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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Entertainment
Jack White

New Netflix added series The Secret 'disturbing' viewers and it's based on real life Irish murder case

A series recently added to Netflix and based on a real Irish murder has been described as 'disturbing' by some viewers.

Despite being released in 2016 on ITV, the true story is currently gaining momentum with viewers shocked at the true story of Colin Howell’s gruesome murder of his wife and his lover’s husband and subsequent cover-up.

Viewers are raving about the BAFTA-nominated mini-series with some labelling the story as “disturbing” and applauding James Nesbitt and Genevieve O’Reilly for their roles.

Read More: Five of the best true crime documentaries you can watch on Netflix

Howell, a northern Irish dentist, was a deeply religious father of 9 and a prominent member of his local Baptist church. His then-lover, Hazel Stewart was a Sunday school teacher.

Howell murdered his wife, Lesley Howell and Hazel Stewart’s husband, Trevor Buchanan. Their bodies were discovered in a car in Castlerock in Derry on 19 May 1991. The deaths were ruled as a joint suicide from carbon monoxide poisoning.

After telling members of his church almost 20 years later, Howell confessed the murders to the police in 2010 and was subsequently jailed for life with a minimum sentence of 21 years.

Stewart was handed a life sentence with a minimum of 18 years.

Howell was later found guilty of sexually assaulting nine patients while working as a dentist.

The series is currently in Netflix’s Top 10 TV Programmes in Ireland Today, ranking number third.

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