The Car in the Garage: The Dark Secrets of Lesley Howell and Trevor Buchanan
Quick Read
Summary
Takeaways
- ❖Lesley Howell and Trevor Buchanan were found dead in a car in 1991, initially ruled a suicide pact.
- ❖Their spouses, Colin Howell and Hazel Buchanan, were having an affair and continued their relationship after the deaths.
- ❖Colin Howell confessed to the double murder in 2009, detailing how he killed both Lesley and Trevor with carbon monoxide.
- ❖Hazel Buchanan was complicit in the murders and the subsequent cover-up, burning evidence and maintaining the lie.
- ❖The initial investigation overlooked significant suspicious details, including physical injuries on Trevor and inconsistencies at the crime scene.
- ❖Colin also confessed to sexually assaulting multiple female dental patients, including Hazel, while they were unconscious.
Insights
1Staged Suicide Pact Concealed Double Murder
In 1991, Lesley Howell and Trevor Buchanan were found dead in a car, with a vacuum hose attached to the exhaust pipe, leading investigators to conclude a carbon monoxide suicide pact. This narrative was accepted for 18 years, despite the victims being on opposite ends of the car and Trevor's door being open with his leg sticking out.
The car was found in Lesley's deceased father's garage. Lesley was in the trunk surrounded by family photos with headphones on, while Trevor was in the driver's seat. The scene was 'calm, almost staged,' but 'something immediately felt wrong.'
2The Affair Between Colin Howell and Hazel Buchanan
Colin Howell, Lesley's husband and a prominent dentist/lay preacher, and Hazel Buchanan, Trevor's wife and a Sunday school teacher, were having a year-long affair. They expressed boredom in their marriages and a desire to be together, meeting secretly at homes or Colin's office.
Colin confessed to Hazel about his 'graphic sexual fantasies' involving her. Hazel responded, 'Well, I'm not that innocent myself.' The affair was 'full of all sorts of different sexual escapades.'
3Lesley's Deteriorating Mental State and Colin's Manipulation
Lesley was severely depressed due to Colin's repeated infidelity and her father's death. After Colin confessed the full extent of his physical affair with Hazel, Lesley attempted suicide. Colin used her fragile state to rationalize his plan, framing the murder as a 'mercy killing.'
Lesley was 'a shell of herself,' 'clearly depressed,' and 'turned to drinking heavily on top of taking her meds.' Colin described her as 'drowning in her sorrows' and used her comments about 'being in heaven soon' as an opportunity.
4Colin's Confession and Hazel's Complicity
In 2009, 18 years after the murders, Colin Howell confessed to killing both Lesley and Trevor. He detailed how he first gassed Lesley in their home, then went to Hazel's house to gas Trevor, who fought back. Hazel was in the next room, plugging her ears, and later disposed of the murder weapon (a hose) by burning it.
Colin 'dragged his body into the trunk of the car with Leslie.' Hazel 'had been in the other room plugging her ears and pretending that she didn't know what was going on.' She was instructed to 'cut it up, and to burn it in their fireplace.'
5Flawed Initial Investigation and Ignored Evidence
The original investigation was severely lacking, immediately ruling out foul play and failing to collect crucial evidence. Detectives ignored physical injuries on Trevor's face and head, the loose and kinked vacuum hose, and the open car window, all of which contradicted a self-inflicted death scenario.
The vacuum hose 'was really loose. It also even had a kink in it.' Trevor's driver's side window 'was rolled all the way down.' On Trevor's mouth and nose area were 'fresh injuries' and 'a small amount of blood coming from the back of his head.' No fingerprints or DNA were collected.
Bottom Line
Colin Howell's confession was not driven by genuine remorse but by a belief in divine punishment after a significant financial scam and the death of his eldest son, Matthew.
This reveals a deeply narcissistic and self-serving motivation, where 'unburdening his soul' was primarily for his own spiritual and psychological relief, rather than seeking justice for his victims.
Understanding such motivations can inform psychological profiling in cold cases where perpetrators may eventually confess due to external pressures or internal crises, rather than pure guilt.
The murders were committed with Colin and Hazel's children, and Lesley's and Trevor's children, sleeping in nearby rooms, exposing them to potential carbon monoxide poisoning.
This highlights the extreme recklessness and disregard for human life, even that of their own children, demonstrating the depth of their depravity and single-minded focus on their illicit relationship.
This detail could be used in victim impact statements or legal arguments to emphasize the severity of the crime and the long-term trauma inflicted on the surviving children, who later learned their parent was a murderer.
Colin Howell confessed to sexually assaulting six female dental patients, including Hazel, while they were under anesthesia, revealing a pattern of predatory behavior extending beyond the murders.
This illustrates that Colin's capacity for manipulation and exploitation was not limited to his affair and the murders but was a pervasive aspect of his character, impacting his professional life and even his accomplice.
This broader pattern of abuse could be examined to understand the psychological profile of individuals who commit heinous crimes, suggesting a fundamental lack of empathy and a propensity for control.
Lessons
- Never dismiss suspicious details in a crime scene, even if an initial narrative seems plausible. Thoroughly investigate all inconsistencies.
- Recognize the signs of extreme psychological manipulation and gaslighting, as demonstrated by Colin Howell's behavior towards Lesley and the pastor.
- Prioritize mental health support for individuals experiencing severe depression or trauma, especially when infidelity or loss is involved, and be vigilant for signs of suicidal ideation or escalating desperation.
Notable Moments
The initial discovery of Lesley and Trevor's bodies in the garage, staged to look like a suicide pact.
This moment set the false narrative for 18 years, showcasing the murderers' cunning and the initial investigators' oversight.
Colin Howell's full confession in 2009, detailing the premeditated double murder.
This revelation shattered the long-held belief of suicide, bringing truth and eventual justice to the victims' families after nearly two decades.
The revelation that Colin also sexually assaulted multiple dental patients under anesthesia, including Hazel.
This exposed a deeper, predatory aspect of Colin's character, demonstrating a consistent pattern of abuse and control beyond the murders.
Quotes
"For almost 20 years, it was believed to be two people devastated by the breakdown of their marriages."
"This was a massive story. It had sex. It had drugs. It had greed. It had betrayal."
"Your wife just tried to take her own life because she is so distraught over your affair and the lies that you have told and finding out that the affair was truly physical, but now you're going to start it up again with Hazel and put her through all of this again and see how far you can really push her over the edge. It's sick. It is truly just disgusting. This guy sucks."
"He said he felt like God was punishing him for what he had done and for the secrets that he had kept. So now he felt like he had to unburden his own soul for his own sake."
"I mean, are people that desperate to have an affair? Honestly, truly, like to where you're going to go to this whole elaborate like staging of the scene and this murder where you're risking killing your own children in the process. Like, like I always say, guys, just get a divorce. Sounds so simple, but obviously it's not."
Q&A
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