Irene White’s family warn ‘middle man’ killer could ‘suffer same fate’ if freed

A DEPRAVED killer could face the same fate as his victim if he is freed from prison, it has been warned.

Kenneth Delcassian made the claim after Niall Power, 51, made an appeal against his conviction over the brutal murder of Irene White, 43, on April 6, 2005.

Power – described as the “middle man” in the gruesome murder – paid Anthony Lambe, 41, just €2,000 to murder the innocent woman at her home at the Ice House on the Demesne Road in Dundalk, Co Louth.

During the horrific attack, Irene suffered 34 stab wounds as she fought for her life.

Despite pleading guilty to the killing in 2019, Power has launched an appeal to overturn his conviction.

Mr Delcassian – whose wife Anne first exposed Power as one of her sister’s killers – has also urged Power to name the mastermind behind the gruesome killing.

In his only interview since Power confirmed his decision to appeal the conviction, Mr Delcassian told of his ongoing fight for justice.

He told us: “I can only see danger for Niall Power if he wins this appeal – the best place for him might be in prison.

“He could finally do the right thing and name the mastermind because the mastermind could come looking for him.

“Power could suffer the same fate as Irene and he would deserve it because of what he did.

“But he could keep himself safe if he makes a statement against the mastermind who simply used him for this horrific crime of a completely innocent woman.

“Both Power and Lambe have absolutely nothing to lose by naming the man who is responsible for both of them serving life sentences.”

Leading human rights lawyer Kevin Winters vowed to raise the issue of Power’s appeal with the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Mr Winters said: “We are writing to the DPP to seek clarity on the current status of this appeal.

“It is very disappointing for our client to learn about this development from media sources.

“It doesn’t inspire confidence that Mr Delcassian’s interests as the next of kin of the victim have been addressed.

“Communication is everything but it has just fallen short here and that needs remedied.”

New details

And as Power continues with his quest for freedom, we also reveal new details of his involvement in the killing in the weeks after Irene’s body was discovered.

On one occasion, Irene’s mum Mo, who died from a broken heart just a few weeks after her daughter’s murder, confronted an associate of Power about the murder.

During the exchange, in which Power was accused of being involved in the planning of the killing, Power’s associate said: “Sure don’t you still have Anne”.

And in the weeks before the murder, Irene also found Power prowling in her house.

‘Looking for money’

When confronted, he said he was “looking for money”.

Power is also suspected of disabling the gates at her home to allow Lambe to enter the property when he killed the Dundalk woman.

Mr Delcassian added: “Power was involved in the intricate planning of Irene for a very long time.

“Anne knew everybody who was involved and every detail about them.

“She knew about everything they had said and her mother also knew about Power’s involvement.

“It just goes to show the contempt that Power’s associate had for a grieving mother when he said something so callous.

“There are other people out there who helped Power and Lambe after the killing and we will keep fighting for justice until the axis of evil is brought to justice.”

Not enough evidence

At present, the DPP concluded earlier this year there wasn’t enough evidence to bring charges against the mastermind.

But Mr Delcassian is continuing with a civil action against the orchestrator.

During Power’s recent appearance at the Appeal Court, Power claimed that he was unable to find a solicitor who would represent him.

He said: “What can I do? I’m in prison. My hands are tied here.”

Mr Justice George Birmingham said there were many solicitors on the legal aid panel who were “very anxious for work”.