This article is from page 10 of the 2012-09-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
AN Ennis woman who was convicted of soliciting a man to murder her then partner would like to return to live in her native town again.
However, Sharon Collins is not planning on moving back to Ennis anytime soon. She was released from the Dochas women’s prison centre last Monday. Ms Collins is on temporary release and will not be on full release until her sentence ends in December.
The 48-year-old was jailed for six years in November 2008 after a jury found her guilty of soliciting a man to murder her partner, PJ Howard, and his two sons, Robert and Niall Howard, on August 15, 2006.
Her co-accused, Essam Eid, was also jailed for six years for demanding money with menace and handling stolen property.
Her solicitor, Patrick Moylan of O’Kelly Moylan Solicitors, said Ms Collins would like to return to live in Ennis again but is worried about the impact of media intrusion on her family.
He said, “She would like to return to the town. She has always been supported by her family and friends and that support has continued. However, she knows that the level of media attention her moving back to Ennis would bring on her family and friends would be unfair.”
The former administrative worker with Clare VEC has continued to maintain her innocence. Under the terms of her release, Ms Collins is not permitted to engage with or speak to the media until her full release in September.
She is currently working on two books that will focus on her experiences since 2006. Mr Moylan explained, “She is writing two books. One will be about the case and one will about her life inside prison.”
Neighbours are said to be unhappy with the level of media interest in the area. It is understood that a reporter from a Dublin tabloid was chased from a garden near the home of a relative of Ms Collins last week.