Serious Adultery

Facebook Affair ends in Murder

It’s a story that barely needs to be written. A recently separated woman is shot dead by her jealous ex just weeks after leaving him. We’ve seen the story a hundred times in these pages over recent months.

And yet, as ever, it is the little details that only add to the pointless tragedy. For not only did the man callously despatch his ex-lover, but also her 4 year old daughter. Finally, in a twisted slice of self-administered justice, he turned the WWII Beretta pistol on himself, shooting himself through his heart and ending his own life on the spot.

An inquest in Hampshire heard how Julie Harrison had met Lee Johnston of Northants on Facebook. The two were old schoolfriends and soon a budding romance flourished. On the day she met her death, she was due to meet Johnston for a walk in the countryside.

Instead, the rendezvous was cut short in bloody, brutal fashion by her ex-lover Andrew Copland, 56. The inquest verdict was that he had unlawfully killed Harrison and her daughter Maisie before killing himself. It was, as coroner Andrew Bradley noted with elegant understatement, “a matter of great sadness.”

The dangers of having an affair are well documented. As well as the emotional turmoil and the practical difficulties inherent in carrying off an illicity tryst with a secret lover, the danger of exposure can run a lot higher than merely the chance of ending up in a public row.

When tempers run hot, reason and balance all too often fly out of the window and time and again the thrill of illicit sex can swiftly lead to horrifying personal consequences for the parties involved.

If you are thinking of having one, remember the simple tips for having an affair that we have covered before. There are no guarantees of safety in a complicated world, but a little care and attention can make that secret sex stay secret for a little bit longer.

Better luck for you than for poor Julie and Maisie Harrison.

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