A mother of two and her lover will serve at least 15 years in jail for the "callous and chilling" murder of her husband, a Belfast judge ordered yesterday.
Julie McGinley (34) of Windmill Drive, Enniskillen and Michael Monaghan (44) of Ann Street, Enniskillen, showed no emotion as Crown Court judge Mr Justice Kerr said they were both guilty of the "heinous" killing of Co Fermanagh businessman Mr Gerry McGinley in his home in August 2000.
Mr Justice Kerr said Mr McGinley was "in a vulnerable, not to say defenceless, position when the first blow was struck.
"It is virtually certain that he was sleeping soundly in his bed after having been out for a night's drinking - and from the medical evidence I am satisfied that he did not expect the first blow and was wholly unaware that he was about to be attacked," added the judge.
Mr Justice Kerr said while the initial blow was "sufficient to incapacitate him" and although the exact number of further blows and the weapon used were not known, "there can be no doubt that the intention was to kill".
The judge said it was also uncertain whether McGinley and Monaghan had actively participated in the actual killing or got others to carry it out.
"Their determination to carry out the murder was clearly callous and chilling - when one considers it had to be executed while two young girls, scarcely more than infants, lay sleeping in the house.
"Moreover, the ferrying of the body to a remote spot, the removal of all identifying clothes and belongings, and its encasement in plastic sheeting all indicate a determined effort to evade detection of the killing."
Mr McGinley's remains were discovered 10 months later by a schoolgirl out picking flowers in Ballinamore wood in Co Leitrim.
Mr McGinley's wife and her lover set up home together, first in Donegal and then in Enniskillen.
Mr Justice Kerr said it was difficult to say whether the plot to kill Mr McGinley had been hatched sometime earlier or whether his killers "seized on the opportunity that was presented to them that night".
Mr Justice Kerr said in the absence of any clear evidence, he was prepared to accept it had been "an opportunistic killing", although he was satisfied they "must have had it in mind to dispose of Mr McGinley for at least some little time before the actual killing".
The judge said there were several aggravating features as the "killing was certainly planned" and that afterwards "elaborate attempts were made" to destroy all evidence of the murder.