Woman on trial for double Sheelin murder

Ms Lawrence denies the alleged charges.

The trial of a 45-year-old Dublin woman accused of murdering two men over a decade ago has heard both victims died from gunshot wounds to the head.

Ruth Lawrence, originally from Clontarf, is charged with the murders of 33-year-old Anthony Keegan and 32-year-old Eoin O'Connor. Their bodies were discovered on Inchicup Island in Lough Sheelin, near the Meath-Cavan border, on 26 May 2014.

Ms Lawrence was charged in May 2023 with two counts of murder on a date unknown between 22 April and 26 May 2014. Gardaí had been alerted following the discovery of the men’s remains.

Opening the prosecution's case, Michael O’Higgins SC told the jury the exact date of the killings was unclear, but both men were known to be alive on 22 April before they “disappeared from sight.”

Their bodies were later found over a month later on the island in Lough Sheelin, which borders Cavan, Meath, and Westmeath.

The court heard that Ms Lawrence was living at Patrick’s Cottage on the Westmeath side of the lake with her boyfriend, Neville Van Der Westhuisen. Inchicup Island lies approximately 100 metres from the shoreline near the cottage.

Mr O’Higgins said both men died from gunshot wounds—Mr O’Connor was shot in the head and stomach, while Mr Keegan was shot in the head and neck.

He told the jury there was no dispute that the men were murdered, but their task would be to decide whether the evidence proves Ms Lawrence was responsible.

The prosecution alleges Ms Lawrence shot Mr O’Connor, although that wound was not immediately fatal. Her boyfriend is then alleged to have fired the fatal shot and also killed Mr Keegan.

Mr O’Higgins said the State would argue Ms Lawrence acted “in concert” with Mr Van Der Westhuisen and that both are guilty of murder.

The prosecution’s opening statement is continuing.

Ms Lawrence denies the alleged charges.