Wife devastated by sailor shooting

The wife of a Royal Navy sailor shot dead on HMS Astute said her family was devastated
12 April 2012

The wife of a Royal Navy sailor shot dead on a nuclear submarine said her family had been "cheated" of a husband and father as she spoke of the "void" he had left in their lives.

Lieutenant Commander Ian Molyneux, 36, was killed on board HMS Astute while it was docked in Southampton last Friday.

His devastated wife Gillian and their four children - Jamie, Arron, Bethany, and Charlie - were struggling to come to terms with his death. "He wasn't just our foundation but he was our future as well," she told Sky News. "He was the one that made all the sacrifices worthwhile and, I know, to the children, he was a hero."

But fighting back tears, Mrs Molyneux said her son Charlie was too young to understand what had happened to his father. "For me, that's possibly one of the most difficult parts - he won't have his own memories of Ian," she said.

"I feel like if his death had happened in a more natural military accident, or something happened with the boat, I could probably accept it a bit easier," she told the broadcaster.

"But I feel myself and my children have been cheated of a husband and a father - and that also the Navy have been cheated ... and Ian, from a hugely prosperous career."

She said she had been trying to involve her children in the funeral arrangements but added: "Bethany doesn't really truly understand, at six years old, the fact that she won't see her daddy again ... I think she has the belief, as we do, that her daddy's in heaven now and I'm happy with that."

Able Seaman Ryan Donovan, 22, of Hillside Road, Dartford, Kent, was remanded in custody on Wednesday as he made his first crown court appearance accused of Lt Cdr Molyneux's murder.

He has also been charged with the attempted murders of Petty Officer Christopher Brown, Chief Petty Officer David McCoy and Lieutenant Commander Christopher Hodge.

The shootings took place as local dignitaries, including the city council's mayor, chief executive and leader, were being given a tour of the submarine while it was berthed at the Eastern Docks on a five-day official visit to the Hampshire city. Lt Cdr Molyneux, from Wigan, died from his wounds on board the nuclear submarine.

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