We were reported a 34-year-old man who pleaded guilty to his wife’s murder four years ago was sentenced to life in prison yesterday at the Central Criminal Court.
And later, it was revealed Colin Whelan was the man who murdered his wife Mary Gough. Soon after, the judge who sentenced Colin to life in prison said in a statement that he had never seen anything like this in his entire career.
How did Mary Gough die?
On March 02, 2001, emergency services were alerted of an alleged fall in the early hours of the morning. Mary Gough’s husband Colin Whelan, who was 29 at the time, called the police about the ‘accident’. Colin informed police officers who arrived at the scene that his wife Mary had fallen down the stairs and died as a result.
During the chilling 999 calls, Colin said: “My wife needs an ambulance; she’s fallen down the stairs.
“What can I do? I don’t think she’s breathing.
“She’s bleeding really badly from her nose.”
First responders found Mary covered in a duvet, with a towel behind her head. They found she had “flat-lined” and were unable to restart her heart, which was unusual if she died when her husband says she had. She was also cold to the touch, which was a red flag to investigators. Mary’s husband Colin subsequently traveled behind the ambulance in his car to the hospital.
Mary Gough was declared dead on arrival at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin.
Who killed Mary Gough?
According to the retired detective inspector Patrick Marry worked on the murder of Mary Gough.
He describes it as “the case he’ll never forget”.
Shortly after Mary died in hospital, Pat Marry learned that a nurse saw a fresh scratch mark on Colin Whelan’s chest. He has said that “things didn’t add up, they didn’t sit well”. Then, in his statement, Colin Whelan said he had heard his wife fall down the stairs, and found her unconscious at the bottom. During the post mortem, state pathologist Professor Marie Cassidy told Pat: “You have a murder on your hands.”
The post mortem showed that Mary’s injuries were NOT consistent with a fall down the stairs. There was hemorrhaging under Mary’s eyes – blood vessels that break during pressure on the neck. Mary also suffered a swollen tongue, which was three times the size it should be.
Marie also found a burn mark on the side of Mary’s neck. She had no doubt whatsoever about the cause of death. Mary Gough had been murdered by strangulation.
And, the police launched a full investigation, following the news that Mary Gough had been murdered. Of course!! Colin Whelan was the main suspect after he’d lied about the fall. Computer programmer Colin Whelan murdered his new wife Mary Gough.
What evidence was there against Colin Whelan?
First of all, there were scratch marks on Colin’s neck on the day Mary Gough died. There was also the fact that he lied about her falling down the stairs. Then, a forensic examination of Colin and Mary’s shared house showed blood staining upstairs on the carpet and the wall. Soon, police realized an assault had taken place. Forensic testing showed that a “mist of blood” from Mary Gough’s nose was found on the wallpaper consistent with being strangled.
In matters of time, all evidence pointed to Mary being killed near the door of their bedroom. It looked like Her body was then moved. Mary had burned on the back of her buttocks, which was consistent with being dragged down the stairs.
Meanwhile, the house alarm system was logged every time a door or window was closed – proving that no one had broken in. There were only two people in the house that night. Subsequent evidence proved that Colin watched his wife die and did not try to resuscitate her as instructed by 999 on the night.
In fact, she was already dead before Colin called the police.
Why did Colin Whelan murder his wife Mary Gough?
Police discovered that Colin Whelan had put much thought into the premeditated attack on his wife Mary Gough.
But exactly why?
Patrick Marry has said: “Colin had no empathy or feelings for his wife.” Then, police found an insurance policy in the house which had been taken out in June 2000 to the value of £200,000 for Colin and his wife for a 10 year period.
When that was approved, he wrote to the insurance company and upped the amount to £400,000. Police began to suspect Colin had purely married Mary for the purpose of killing her and claiming the insurance. When detectives dug further into Colin’s internet history, they discovered there was more to his motive for murder than just money.
Colin was often on chat rooms under the false name of Celtic Tackle.
He pretended to be single and had multiple online flings.
Colin became very friendly with one girl in Wales and was messaging her right up until the day he killed his wife.
The murderer told his lover that his wife had died in a car crash.
In fact, Colin planned to murder his wife Mary Gough between February 28, 2001, and March 01, 2001.
When was Colin Whelan arrested? And Where is Colin Whelan now?
The police interviewed him and presented him with all the evidence. He consistently answered “no comment” and insisted Mary Gough’s death was an accident. However, the police believed they had enough evidence to charge Colin Whelan. Colin appeared in court, and the judge set the trial date for two and a half years of time. Soon after, the accused Colin immediately applied for bail and, unbelievably it seems, was released the same day. But, the conditions of his bail were that he had to surrender his passport, and had to sign in at a police station.
For over a year, Colin signed on at the Balbriggan police station. However, in May 2002 Colin’s family came to the station to say he was missing the same day his car was found abandoned near cliffs, with the keys to the car on the passenger seat and an empty bottle of gin.
Hence, everything pointed to Colin having taken his own life. And now the big question is did he jump over the edge or did he jump bail? And, of course, Colin had done a runner and tried to fake his own death.
After all this, Colin Whelan is still in prison.
After his sentencing, he had a girlfriend called Katie Wilcox who would visit him regularly in jail.
She vowed to stand by him.
Who were Mary Gough and Colin Whelan? Everything about their early life
Mary Gough was from Stamullen, Co Meath. Her best friend Sinead Byrne described Mary as “happy” and “jolly”, but also “very quiet, reserved, and laidback”. She comes from a family of five boys, she “had to stand up for herself” explains her brother Barry. She met Colin Whelan, from North County Dublin, for the first time when she was working in the Huntsman Inn in 1993. Then in 1995, the couple “hit a bad patch” but got back together after a few months.

In 1997, Colin Whelan purchased a house in Clonard Street, Balbriggan, from a relative. A year later, the couple got engaged and then got married in 2000. Tragically, just six months after the ceremony, Mary was dead. She was just 27 when she was murdered.
However, our sources were unable to grab the information about Colin Whelan.
Earnings Net worth of Colin Whelan
Colin Whelan was in the limelight just because he murdered his wife. So, our sources could not get much of his earnings.
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Is Colin Whelan Married now? What is his relationship status now?
No, Colin Whelan is still in prison and he was never married after he was put in prison. But rumors have it that there is one girl who regularly meets Colin, and she has said that she will always be with Colin till the end. As of now, we come to the conclusion that he might never be able to get married, as prisoners are not allowed to get married inside the prison.
Career and Education updates of Whelan
The education qualification and career he adopted are still unaware to any media.
Is Colin active on Social media?
He is in prison. So, it’s very hard to imagine being active on social media inside of prison. Yeah, reports suggest when he was not involved in the allegations he was seen on Twitter.
How does Colin Whelan look by Body Appearance?
Height | N / A |
Weight | N / A |
Color | White |
Hair | Bald |
Some of the interesting facts on Colin Whelan
Name | Colin Whelan |
Age | Not available |
Relationship status | Rumored Girlfriend |
Birthplace | Unknown. |