Catherine Nevin has begun a mandatory life sentence after being found guilty of murdering her husband, Tom, at their County Wicklow pub, Jack White's Inn, four years ago. After five days, the longest deliberation in the history of the State, the jury unanimously found her guilty of that crime. She was also found unanimously guilty on one charge of soliciting others to murder him, and there were majority verdicts of eleven to one on the other two charges of soliciting. She will be sentenced for those offences on May 23. Soliciting carries a sentence of ten years.
In passing sentence, Miss Justice Mella Carroll addressed Mrs Nevin; she told her she had her husband assassinated and then had tried to have his character assassinated. Mrs Nevin stood and looked calmly at the judge as sentence was passed. She remained composed throughout the proceedings. An emotional Miss Justice Carroll, who presided at the trial for 61 days, through three juries, said that she hoped Tom Nevin's family would take some consolation in this verdict. She also complimented the jury on its hard work and diligence.
In a prepared statement, Tom Nevin's family said that while nothing could diminish their grief, there was some relief that the person primarily responsible had been found guilty of the offence. They said that efforts during the trial to destroy Tom Nevin's character had not succeeded. During the course of the trial Mrs Nevin had asserted that her husband was a member of the IRA. She also claimed that he was an alcoholic but drank only late at night after the pub had closed.
