Two men whose bodies were discovered on an island in the midlands were “shot to death”, and the prosecution’s case is a Dublin woman and her then boyfriend acted “as a team” in murdering them, the Central Criminal Court has been told.
Michael O’Higgins SC was opening the prosecution case in the trial of Ruth Lawrence, who has pleaded not guilty to the murders of Anthony Keegan (33) and Eoin O’Connor (32) at an unknown location on a date unknown between April 22nd and May 26th, 2014.
On Thursday, Mr O’Higgins, with barrister Jane Horgan-Jones, said the men were last known to be alive on the early evening of April 22nd, 2014.
Their bodies were recovered on May 26th on Inchicup Island in Lough Sheelin.
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He said Patrick’s Cottage, in Ross, Mountnugent, Co Meath, where Ms Lawrence lived in 2014 with her boyfriend Neville van der Westhuizen, is on the Westmeath side of Lough Sheelin, and Inchicup Island is about 100 metres from the shoreline.
Both victims were “shot to death”, counsel said. Mr Keegan had gunshot wounds to the neck and head, while Mr O’Connor had wounds to the head and stomach.
He said an offence can be committed directly or by a joint enterprise or common design, he said. The prosecution case is that Ms Lawrence was working as a unit with others, particularly her boyfriend, to kill both men.
The evidence will be that Ms Lawrence shot Mr O’Connor. That did not appear to be an immediately fatal shot, and it was followed by a shot from Mr van der Westhuizen. The prosecution case is Mr van der Westhuizen shot Mr Keegan, and that meant Ms Lawrence is also guilty of murder because they were acting as “a team”.
Mr O’Higgins said Mr O’Connor was a drug dealer who in April 2014 was owed €70,000 by Mr van der Westhuizen.
The evidence would suggest two men, Mr AB and Mr CD, were also drug dealers, and had put Mr O’Connor in touch with Mr van der Westhuizen. The jury will learn Mr Keegan accompanied Mr O’Connor to Cavan in a supporting role, presumably if he needed any backup. It is not suggested his role was any more than that, counsel said.
The jury will hear about a father and daughter who sold drugs and that the father sometimes got drugs from Mr van der Westhuizen and Mr O’Connor.
They will hear a male friend of Mr van der Westhuizen’s came to Patrick’s Cottage twice on April 23rd, 2014, which the prosecution believes was the day after the murders took place. That man was involved in a clean-up to ensure it would be difficult to find evidence either of the deceased men had been there, counsel said.
The jury will hear Ms Lawrence was asking on April 21st about hiring a boat to go out into the lough and, on the same day, Mr O’Connor was in Cavan anxious to make contact with Mr van der Westhuizen about payment.
On the late afternoon of April 22nd, Mr O’Connor and Mr Keegan travelled back to Cavan in Mr O’Connor’s mother’s silver Ford Focus to meet Mr van der Westhuizen, he said. The jury will hear calls from mobile phones led to a meeting in or around Ballyjamesduff and that the last phone contacts concerning both deceased were just after 8.30pm. The prosecution cannot pinpoint the precise moment when either man was shot dead but it seems it was later that evening, counsel said.
The prosecution case is that Ms Lawrence parked the silver Ford Focus some time on the morning of April 23rd at a car park at Lough Owel.
Meanwhile, Mr O’Connor’s family were very concerned. Gardaí were contacted and a missing person investigation began.
The prosecution case is that Mr van der Westhuizen and Ms Lawrence had, in the presence of others in the cottage, spoken openly about the murders and the disposing of the bodies, counsel said. The prosecution contended comments by Ms Lawrence indicated she was involved in both murders and in the disposing of the bodies.
On April 25th Mr van der Westhuizen and Ms Lawrence, along with the father and daughter, travelled to Rosslare port and on to Fishguard, he said. Mr van der Westhuizen and Ms Lawrence within days went on to his native South Africa where Ms Lawrence lived for several years, counsel said.
The father and daughter returned to Cavan and were later interviewed by gardaí.
On May 26th, 2014, gardaí discovered the bodies of Mr O’Connor and Mr Keegan, bound in rope and tape and covered with tarpaulin and other material, he said.
The trial continues on Friday.
