A couple killed, mistakenly identified by police in a burglary, was expecting a baby on Valentine’s Day, family members said.
Patrick McDonagh, 19, and Shauna McDonagh, 18, were killed after getting into a head-on crash in west London on Feb. 10.
Investigators said in an update on Thursday that police officers should not have been pursuing the couple as the teenagers were not present at the burglary.
Nine police cars and a helicopter tracked the couple’s vehicle until the crash.
“It has now been confirmed, as part of a separate police investigation, that the occupants of the Renault were not present at the time of an aggravated burglary reported to have taken place in Harrow,” the Independent Office for Police Conduct said in a statement obtained by Sky News. An investigation was going to probe why police mistakenly thought the couple was involved in the crime.
The revelation came as family members said Shauna McDonagh was pregnant and due to give birth on Feb. 14.
The couple was “very much looking forward to the birth of their daughter” and had already picked out the name Sienna Marie,” the family said in a statement.
“Patrick and Shauna were a young couple who had recently got married and were very much in love,” the family stated. “Patrick was a devoted husband to Shauna and they were very much looking forward to the birth of their daughter Sienna Marie who was due to be born on Valentine’s Day.”
Irish newlyweds Patrick and Shauna McDonagh killed in horror crash after cop chase were not involved in nearby burglary https://t.co/InEY0U7DFI
— Irish Daily Mirror (@IrishMirror) February 15, 2019
Other reports indicated the baby was due in April.
The couple was married just 11 weeks ago.
“They were having their first baby, a little girl, in April and they were over the moon,” a cousin told the Evening Standard. “They were a very close couple, always together, seemed very happy, madly in love with each other. They were both very close to their families. Their families will never get over their deaths. They’re completely heartbroken.”
Patrick McDonagh’s sister added on Facebook: “My beautiful baby bro and his lovely wife, their whole lives ahead of them and my little niece due … why is life so cruel?”
Pair killed in police chase were expecting baby on Valentine’s Day https://t.co/iUMAtYCAqg
— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 14, 2019
A third person in the couple’s vehicle survived and was rushed to the hospital. He was arrested on suspicion of aggravated burglary.
In a statement, a Scotland Yard spokeswoman told the Daily Mail that the burglary call came in from a homeowner who said that four male suspects barged into the home late Sunday after 8 p.m.
“The suspects then threatened the householders with a large hunting knife and screwdriver and demanded valuables,” she said. “The victims were threatened they would be killed if they did not cooperate and one of the suspects punched the man in his 30s in the face causing swelling to his eye.”
Pregnant teenager and husband killed in smash during cop chase were NOT at burglaryhttps://t.co/zsyISLQIPj
— The Daily Record (@Daily_Record) February 15, 2019
The victims called the police after the burglars left.
It’s not clear how the police linked the young couple to the crime and Scotland Yard did not apologize for the mistaken identification.
“My thoughts are with the families and friends of Patrick and Shauna, those injured and all those affected by this incident,” Independent Office for Police Conduct Regional Director Jonathan Green said in a statement. “It is important that we now establish all of the circumstances surrounding this collision.”
