A woman has appeared in court charged with the murder of Dublin men Eoin O’Connor and Anthony Keegan nine years ago.
Ruth Lawrence, 42, was brought before a special sitting of Trim District Court at 8:30 pm on Thursday evening after she was extradited from South Africa.
Detective Raymond Flynn gave evidence of arrest, charge, and caution during the brief hearing. Det Flynn said he arrested Ms Lawrence at Dublin Airport for the purpose of charge at 5:15pm.
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She was brought to Trim Garda Station where Det Flynn charged her with two counts of murder on an unknown date between April 22 and May 26 2014. She was also handed a true copy of the charge sheet. Det Flynn said she made no reply after she was charged.
Ms Lawrence, who was wearing a black blazer and white shirt along with a grey skirt, did not speak during the short hearing. Members of the victims’ families were also present in court. The defendant was flanked in the dock by two gardai on either side.
She was granted legal aid after defence solicitor Danielle O’Sullivan made an application and presented a signed statement of her means. Judge Cormac Dunne remanded her in custody. She will appear in the Criminal Courts of Justice on Tuesday, May 30 by video link.
Extradition proceedings began when Ms Lawrence was nabbed in a dawn raid on October 4 last year by the elite South African police squad The Hawks at a suburban bungalow she was renting behind security gates in Bloemfontein.
She spent more than six months behind bars locked up in a hell hole holding cell at a Bloemfontein police station and even volunteered to be flown home ignoring the chance to fight extradition.
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