A week into the trial more has been heard about Eoin O’Connor (32) and his friend Anthony Keegan (33) whose bodies were found a month after they disappeared in April 2014
Ruth Lawrence (45), who is originally from Clontarf in Dublin but with an address at Patricks Cottage, Ross, Mountnugent in Co Meath has pleaded not guilty to murdering Anthony Keegan (33) and Eoin O’Connor (32) at an unknown location within the State on a date between April 22, 2014 and May 26, 2014, both dates inclusive.
A jury has heard how she shot Eoin O’Connor and while this was not immediately fatal, her then boyfriend Neville van der Westhuizen quickly followed up after he had shot O’Connor’s friend Anthony Keegan.
Van der Westhuizen owed €70,000 to O’Connor and another local dealer in Ballyjamesduff, Jason Symes owed €15,0000, according to the State’s case.
Lawrence, who had left Ireland for South Africa after the murders in April 2014, is the person on trial but, so far, she has hardly been mentioned in the evidence.
Ruth Lawrence
A week into the trial more has been heard about O’Connor and his friend Keegan whose bodies were found a month after they disappeared on April 22.
O’Connor dealt in cannabis and was supplying Symes and Van der Westhuizen who both had built up a debt.
However, O’Connor was under pressure from those above him in the chain to collect the money, the jury was told.
From Coolock, the father of two had been living with his partner Karen Roche in Saint Teresa’s Gardens in Dublin city.
She told a Central Criminal Court jury this week she knew what he did and how Eoin at the time was quiet, upset and not in the right frame of mind.
On the day of his final trip to Cavan he had got up early and walked the dog and later met her and their two daughters then aged 5 and ten and went to Smyth’s Toys.
His phone rang at 4pm and he said he’d have to go back down the country but first they went home to give his daughter a birthday cake.
He left at around 5.30pm. Karen said: “I never saw him again.”
Eoin O’Connor and Anthony Keegan
News in 90 Seconds – October 19
Anthony Keegan’s sister Margaret told how her brother who had been adopted was always “a bit mad”.
He had abused drugs but the year before his death he had been clean, was doing a Fr McVerry course and had his own flat on Belvedere Road.
She rang for a chat at 6pm on 22 April and had a normal conversation but the coverage was bad and the call was cut off.
She tried to ring him back three times, but his phone was off – the next day she found Facebook messages from Eoin O’Connor’s brothers to say Eoin was missing and Anthony had been with him.
The O’Connor brothers Rory and Brian also gave evidence how they were in regular contact with Eoin and knew that he was involved in selling cannabis.
Before 9pm on 22 April they were already worried.
Brian had been in touch that day, telling Eoin about a local football match but later couldn’t reach him to tell him the final score.
Earlier, he said Eoin had told him he was ok, was waiting for someone with the money from Jason and “a black fella called Nev.”
When he texted Eoin at 9.45pm to say he was getting worried he got a one-word reply: “Yeah.”
But that was no reassurance as Brian told the jury his brother always spelled the word as ‘Yea’ not ‘Yeah’.
Rory knew Eoin had gone to Ballyjamesduff to collect money from Jason Symes and by 2am he had driven to Cavan to search for him with some other men.
He checked Bailieboro garda station to see if their mother’s Ford Focus which Eoin had been driving was there.
Locals in Ballyjamesduff had told him that’s where anyone arrested locally would be taken by gardaí.
He was then stopped, arrested and searched by gardaí. He told them he was worried about his brother.
Prosecution counsel Michael O’Higgins in his opening statement said that the brothers and other men had arrived in Ballyjamesduff where they had been forcefully raising their concerns the next day with Jason Symes’ son Sean.
In his statement read out in court this week, Sean Symes said a group of men had turned up at his house demanding to see his father.
He said threats were made to him that his fingers would be cut off and his throat slit in front of his children.
Rory reported his brother missing to Santry Garda station while Margaret Keegan reported Anthony missing at Mountjoy.
Ruth’s boyfriend’s father Peter van der Westhuizen also made a statement to gardaí which was read out in court.
He said his son had called to his flat in the town looking for petrol money on Thursday, April 24.
His son said he had to go and talk to gardaí but didn’t explain why and at 1.20 am called back to ask again for money and left after getting €10.
A fellow South African, Ashraf Lewis, who knew Neville from Ireland, drove to Rosslare on Friday, April 25, where he met Neville and gave him €250 after being called by his friend.
The case remained a missing persons’ report with gardaí carrying out searches in the area and the lake near Patrick’s Cottage where Ruth and Neville had been living.
A fisherman, Pat Smith, was on Lake Sheelin fishing on May 18 and went to one side of Inchicup island to shelter from the wind and have a break.
However, the stench of rotting flesh was so bad they had to move off. The next day he reported it to a Garda acquaintance.
A week later a Garda dog handler Paul Conroy was brought to the island where his German Shepherd almost immediately gave an indication.
A mound covered in branches, plastic bags and coats was found with crimes of scenes officers brought to the island.
More branches were removed and the plastic cut. The next day, after the technical team had done their work, the bodies were taken to a mortuary.
The trial continues next week with the jury told that a substantial witness will be giving evidence.