This article is from page 13 of the 2008-07-15 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 13 JPG
SHARON Collins is this week adjust- ing to her surroundings in Mountjoy prison, having been found guilty of conspiracy to murder her partner and his two sons and also of soliciting a man to kill the three.
The mother-of-two was taken into custody at the Central Crimi- nal Court at teatime last Wednesday, having been found guilty by a jury of six charges.
The 45-year-old has been placed in the Laurel House unit of the wom- en’s prison, the Dochas centre.
She is sharing the area with nine others, including Tanya Lamb (30), who is serving a 10-year term for killing her partner with a hockey
stick. Anthony Jordan died after be- ing attacked in Ballymun, Dublin, in 2003.
AY ES @ro) Ure cede (orem SIRO) Moan ry day and after she is sentenced, this will be limited to weekly visits.
“She is adjusting to her circum- stances, changed as they are,” said a source close to Ms Collins, yesterday. Newspaper claims that she is con- stantly crying her eyes out and had to be seen by a doctor as an emergency due to her distressed state have been described as “exaggerated.”
“Every person who is admitted to prison is seen by a doctor,” said the source. Collins was found guilty of soliciting Essam Eid to murder PJ, Robert and Niall Howard. The jury delivered its unanimous decision at
2.25pm last Wednesday, after delib- erating for eight hours.
Forty minutes later, the jury re- turned verdicts on the conspiracy to murder charges. They found Collins guilty of conspiring to murder the three Howards, but could not decide whether her co-accused Essam Eid was guilty of the conspiracy charges and returned a verdict of disagree- ment.
Any appeals in the case will be lodged to the Court of Criminal Ap- peal, after the sentencing in October.
After the verdicts were returned to the court, Prosecutor Tom O’ Connell immediately asked for Collins to be remanded in custody.
‘Her status has now changed. She is a convicted person. She has been
convicted of very serious crimes. My application is to have her remanded in custody,” he said.
However, her legal team pointed out that there was no danger of Col- lins not turning up for sentence in October and sought various medical reports to be carried out.
Mr Justice Roderick Murphy ruled that it was not necessary for some- one to be on bail for psychological reports to be carried out and he re- manded her in custody.
Paul O’Higgins, SC, for Collins, requested that she be remanded to Mountjoy women’s prison rather than Limerick, pointing out that her two sons were living in Dublin.
The judge said this was a matter for the State and the court would be
happy to make the recommendation.
Minutes after Collins was driven away to prison, her solicitor Eugene O’Kelly asked for privacy for her two sons Gary and David, who had supported their mother throughout the eight-week trial.
“I would like to say that the two persons that are most affected, other than Sharon, as a result of this ver- dict, are her two sons. These are two fine young men that have displayed loyalty, devotion and love for their mother. They have stood by her in this trial and their lives have now been shattered as a result of the out- come. I would ask that they be af- forded respect and privacy so that they can adjust to the changed cir- cumstances,’ said Mr O’Kelly.