Key witness tells court it was Ruth Lawrence's boyfriend who murdered drug dealer and his friend

Alison O'Riordan

Ruth Lawrence is "not a murderer" because it was her boyfriend who "murdered" drug dealer Eoin O'Connor and his friend, a key witness has told a Central Criminal Court trial.

Stacey Symes (32) testified in her direct evidence on Tuesday that Ms Lawrence told her that she had shot Mr O'Connor "but it went wrong", so her boyfriend Neville van der Westhuizen "took over".

Under cross-examination on Wednesday, Ms Symes disagreed with Patrick Gageby SC, defending, that the accused never said she had shot anyone.

Ms 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 22nd, 2014 and May 26th, 2014, both dates inclusive.

Ms Symes told the trial on Tuesday that she and her father went to Patrick's Cottage on April 22nd.

"I remember Ruth saying she had shot Eoin but it went wrong; that he had twisted or something," the witness told the jury.

On Wednesday, Mr Gageby put it to Ms Symes that Ms Lawrence never said she had shot anyone or had a gun. "She did," replied Ms Symes.

"In fact the discussion in the house happened as people were sitting at the table in the kitchen on the first night you were there and the person doing the talking was Neville," said Mr Gageby. "They were all speaking with each other," replied Ms Symes.

Mr Gageby said Neville had been telling the witness and her father about having met Mr O'Connor and Mr Keegan and that part payment for money owed was organised. "No..... possibly I can't remember the conversation," said Ms Symes.

"Neville said Anthony Keegan had said in the car that he would kill for Eoin," continued Mr Gageby, to which the witness said "it was Ruth that said that". Mr Gageby suggested to the witness that it was Neville.

Mr Gageby then put it to the witness that his client never had a gun nor said she had "wiped" a car. Ms Symes said the accused "was in the countryside with a gun; that's not a normal thing" and enjoyed "whatever it [the gun] was doing for her".

When Mr Gageby further put it to the witness that Ms Lawrence never suggested she had shot any person.

"She did," said Ms Symes.

"But clearly Neville had; isn't that the situation?" asked Mr Gageby.

Ms Symes replied: "As far as I was aware, she was standing in front of me and said she twisted, and I remember her going in front of me with this movement [the witness gestures] but she is not a murderer because Neville murdered the two of them".

The trial continues on Thursday before Mr Justice Tony Hunt and a jury of four men and eight women, when Ms Symes' father Jason will give his direct evidence.

In his opening address, Mr O'Higgins told the jury that the State would argue that Ms Lawrence shot drug dealer Mr O'Connor and worked "as a unit" with her boyfriend to kill him and Mr Keegan, with their bodies later found "bound in rope, tape and covered in tarpaulin" on Inchicup Island on Lough Sheelin.