PSNI charges Gallagher with threats to kill and harassment

John Gallagher, who killed his former girlfriend and her mother in 1988, has been arrested on charges of making threats to kill and harassment.

Mr Gallagher (46), who is originally from Co Donegal, now lives in Strabane, Co Tyrone. He was arrested on Tuesday following an incident outside a shopping centre in Strabane. It is understood Gallagher, who killed mother and daughter Annie (51) and Anne (18) Gillespie , was involved in an altercation with an estranged family member. Threats were made and Gallagher was arrested by the PSNI. He was charged and is to appear in court on June 6th.

A spokesman for the PSNI confirmed a 46-year-old man was arrested in Strabane on Tuesday. He has been charged with threats to kill and harassment.

He is due to appear at Strabane Magistrates Court on June 6th.

Gallagher was released from the Central Mental Hospital in Dublin in June last year after he handed himself in after 12 years on the run. Gallagher was found “guilty but insane” at his trial in 1989, but absconded and later set up home in Strabane. He had voluntarily returned last May, but was discharged two months later.