THE widow of the Co Wicklow publican, Mr Tom Nevin, is in Mountjoy Prison pending trial for murdering her husband and soliciting three men to kill him six years before his death.
Mrs Catherine Nevin was arrested yesterday as she collected rent from property she owns at Ballybough in north inner Dublin. She had driven to Dublin yesterday morning from the public house where her husband was shot dead by an intruder on March 19th last year.
Mrs Nevin (46) appeared composed and did not speak during a brief appearance at Dublin District Court yesterday.
She was arrested at lunchtime after gardai received a direction to proceed with charges from the Director of Public Prosecutions office. The case had been under investigation by a team of detectives based in Arklow, who questioned Mrs Nevin and a number of men about the murder last year.
Only last month Mrs Nevin was involved in a High Court case in which her late husband's family sought to administer his estate, which was valued at £250,260.
The High Court ruled that Mrs Nevin could collect all the assets of her husband's estate but could not distribute them. She is challenging this decision before the Supreme Court.
Mr Nevin was counting takings in the back room of his public house, Jack White's, on the main Dublin road, at Brittas, Co Wicklow, in the early hours of March 19th last year when he was killed. He died from a single shotgun blast fired into his lower chest at point blank range.
Mrs Nevin, who was reported to have been tied to her bed by the intruder, raised the alarm later the same morning after freeing herself.
At the District Court yesterday she was charged with murdering her husband and with soliciting three men to carry out the killing. She was accused of soliciting Mr William McClane at St Vincent's Hospital on various dates in 1990.
She is accused of soliciting Mr Gerry Heapes on different dates the same year within the State. And she is charged with soliciting Mr John Jones on various dates within the State during 1989.
When charged the defendant replied, "I am not guilty," to all the charges.
Her defence solicitor, Mr Garrett Sheehan, said there would be no application for bail at this stage. Judge Michael Connellan remanded the defendant in custody to appear again on April 21st.
Mrs Nevin was brought to court for the brief appearance shortly before 3 p.m. A large number of Garda detectives and media personnel were present, but the only other spectators were two women who sat at the back of the court during the hearing of arrest details.
Mrs Nevin sat in the dock and looked briefly over at the press gallery. Afterwards she was led to a holding cell to await the van that would bring her to prison.