A fisherman has told the jury in a double murder trial about a “dreadful smell” he got off an island on Lough Sheelin where the victims’ bodies were eventually found.
45-year-old Ruth Lawrence, from Clontarf in Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Eoin O'Connor and Anthony Keegan over ten years ago.
Gardai believe Eoin O'Connor and Anthony Keegan were shot dead on the 22nd of April 2014 after driving to Cavan from Dublin to collect a drug debt.
It is alleged that Ruth Lawrence’s then boyfriend, Neville Van der Westhuizen, owed Mr O’Connor €70k. At the time, the couple lived in a cottage on the shores of Lough Sheelin, which straddles counties Meath, Cavan and Westmeath.
A local fisherman called Pat Smith gave evidence today of being on the lake with a friend almost one month later – on the 18th of May 2014. While taking a break on the boat, he said he noticed a “dreadful smell… like rotten flesh” coming from an island on the lake.
It is the prosecution’s case that Ms Lawrence was involved in both murders and the disposal of their bodies. She denies the charges.
