Ominous text messages, a little black gun, and a dreadful smell: key moments from the Ruth Lawrence murder trial
Anthony Keegan, Ruth Lawrence and Eoin O’Connor
Today at 16:06
Eleven years on from when the bodies of two missing Dublin men were found bound and buried in a shallow grave on a lake island in the midlands, the only person to face trial over their deaths – Ruth Lawrence – has been found guilty of their murders. The jury, by a majority verdict of 11-1, agreed with the prosecution case that 46-year-old Lawrence shot and worked “as a unit” with her boyfriend, South African national Neville van der Westhuizen, to murder drug dealer Eoin O’Connor (32), after they had lured him to their home. The prosecution contended that Anthony Keegan (33) was shot by van der Westhuizen and the jury, by a majority verdict of 10-2, accepted the argument that there was evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that he and Lawrence also acted as a team in that murder and were equally liable for the outcome.
Here are some of the key moments from the Central Criminal Court trial.
