Peter Whelan was 20 when he tried to assault a barman with a glass ashtray, but rather than call it a night, he then turned up at a house where two young women were getting ready to go out
A beast left a woman battling for her life while her pal lay dead on the bedroom floor – before returning moments later to nonchalantly join worried neighbours gathering outside the murder scene.
Now, 23 years on, the woman who survived 20 stab wounds fears she will soon cross paths with the murderer on the streets of County Cork in Ireland if he is released from prison. And below, we revisit one of the most shocking unprovoked attacks Ireland has ever witnessed.
Peter Whelan was just 20 when he attempted to assault a barman with a glass ashtray, resulting in him being thrown out of a pub in Cork.
Nichola Sweeney, on the same evening of April 27, 2002, had just returned home from her part-time job. She was residing in Rochestown after her family relocated from London when she was 16.
Her parents and siblings were away and she planned to spend time with her friend, Sinead O’Leary, 19, who recently moved back to Cork from London.
The pair decided to enjoy a night out and Nichola was in her en suite bathroom doing her makeup, while Sinead was curling her hair on the bed, when the unthinkable occurred at 10.55pm.
After being ejected from the pub, Whelan, who was unknown to the young women, turned up at the Sweeney family home.
Appearing in the doorway of the bedroom, he launched a savage attack on Sinead, who was punched several times.
He then proceeded to stab Sinead 20 times, with the attack so relentless that one of his two knives broke.
During the brutal attack, Nichola pleaded with the man to stop before he pursued her into the bathroom, where he stabbed her 11 times, including a fatal wound to the heart.
Sinead, who suffered stab wounds to her shoulder and upper arms, barricaded herself in a downstairs bathroom while Whelan fled the scene.
However, after returning home to change his clothes and clean up, he calmly returned to the street and reportedly gave directions to the Gardai (Irish police) to the crime scene.
Shortly afterwards, he was apprehended, following a detailed description of the murderer provided by a traumatised Sinead.
And speaking to the Irish Times years later, Sinead said: “Peter Whelan has never showed one glimmer of remorse. Even after the attack he said to Gardai, on learning that I was still alive, ‘I’m just sorry I didn’t do more.'”
Whelan, originally from Rochestown and known to have visited Cork in recent years, admitted to the murder of Nichola and the attempted murder of Sinead. He was initially sentenced to 15 years (later reduced to 11) for attempted murder before beginning his life sentence for Nichola’s murder.
In 2019, Whelan was granted three supervised day releases per month, and a report in the Irish Sun on Sunday has now alleged that the killer has been enjoying day trips from prison, and is preparing to make his fifth application for parole early next year.
Expressing her concerns, Sinead, who miraculously survived the attack, told the publication: “If he does get out someday then there should be an exclusion order in place for him to stop him from coming anywhere near us and Nichola’s family.”
She further stated: “I have no doubt that he is and will remain a disturbed individual. If we don’t have exclusion zones in place then it’s feasible that he could walk past me in the street.”
Nichola’s brother, Sean, previously described telling his parents about their daughter’s death as his “worst nightmare”, and expressed his certainty that Whelan, who has never shown remorse for his brutal crime, could kill again.
The Parole Board was approached regarding the claims made in this story but stated they do not comment on individual cases.