Key facts
- Victims
- Eoghan and Ruairi Chada
- Perpetrator
- Sanjeev Chada, Kathleen’s former husband
- Years since killings
- 13
- Parole board meeting
- April (year not specified)
- Parole application frequency
- Every two years after 12 years
- Kathleen’s proposal
- Minimum sentencing of 20, 25, or 30 years
Background
Kathleen Chada has described the parole process as “a rollercoaster you just can’t get off” as she faces her husband’s latest bid for release, 13 years after he killed their sons Eoghan and Ruairi.
Sanjeev Chada was convicted of murdering the two boys in 2013. Kathleen Chada told Newstalk Breakfast with Anton Savage that she met the parole board in April and that the application for parole had been “a real trigger” for her.
She stressed the importance of the parole board understanding “not just what he did, but how he did it.”
Current situation
Kathleen Chada said she cannot come to terms with what her former husband did. “You don’t, you can’t, because it almost feels like coming to terms is almost justifying it. So you learn to live with it,” she said.
She said she has learned to live with the reality, supported by family, friends, community, and a psychologist. “You don’t come to terms with it. You can’t, there isn’t anything that will ever, ever make me understand or accept in a way what he did.”
She noted that once 12 years have passed, parole applications can be made every two years. “I know that every two years he has the option to apply for parole and I’m assuming that he will do that.”
Impacts
Kathleen Chada said she would like to see a system of minimum sentencing introduced, where a judge would impose a defined number of years before parole consideration—possibly 20, 25, or 30 years. “If that had been the case, you could park everything,” she said.
She expressed belief that her husband will eventually be released, and that he would serve his sentence on license. “If he’s not actually behind bars, behind a locked door, then to me, he’s got a freedom that he does not deserve.”
Asked if she dreaded his release, she said she did, because at present she knows where he is. She also voiced concern for her own safety: “He wanted to kill me at the time. At the moment, I’m very safe. I don’t feel in any way threatened, but I will feel threatened if he’s out.”
Future outlook
Scenario analysis: The possibilities below are not certain predictions.
If the parole board grants Sanjeev Chada’s application, he could be released on license, though he would still be serving his sentence. Kathleen Chada said she believes this will eventually happen.
If he is released, she fears the risk to her life, noting that nobody predicted his past actions. “The reality is, we don’t know, none of us can ever know what he is capable of if he was out. So, the risk is always going to be there in my view.”
If minimum sentencing were introduced, future cases could see defined parole eligibility periods, potentially reducing repeated applications. However, such a change would require legislative action and would not affect current cases.
Source: breakingnews.ie
