The Central Criminal Court has heard that a woman on trial for murder of two men whose bodies were found on an island on Lough Sheelin inquired from her landlord about borrowing a boat the day before the men went missing.
Ruth Lawrence, who is originally from Clontarf in Dublin but with an address at Patrick's Cottage, Ross, Mountnugent in Co Meath, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Anthony Keegan, 33, and Eoin O'Connor, 32, at an unknown location between 22 April 2014 and 26 May 2014.
The bodies of the two men were found on Lough Inchicup on 26 May 2014. They had been shot in the head. The prosecution alleges Ms Lawrence and her boyfriend murdered the men and disposed of their bodies before leaving the country a few days later.
Declan McCabe, who was the owner and landlord of Patrick’s Cottage where Ms Lawrence lived, told the court he was picking up rent at the house when Ms Lawrence asked about going out on the lake.
He said this would have been normal to accommodate anyone staying at his property if they wanted to go out on the lake.
He said he told Ms Lawrence he had a lake boat but she was interested in a boat with a cabin. He told her of another resident who might have a boat with a cabin.
During cross-examination he agreed with defence counsel Patrick Gageby that he was aware Ms Lawrence was working at a nearby hotel on the shores of the lake.
Asked if there was a discussion about how the boat might be powered Mr McCabe said he told her he had oars and she inquired about an engine and the told her he could get a loan of an engine.
Mr McCabe said on the following Wednesday, Ms Lawrence and her boyfriend Neville Van Der Westhuisen collected the engine in a van and he instructed them how to clip on the engine and where to leave it when they were finished.
He agreed there was nothing suspicious and all was "calm and relaxed".
He met the couple briefly the following morning when they returned in a BMW which they did not often use.
They returned the engine and Ms Lawrence said they did not really go out (on the lake) but said "thanks anyway". He agreed that was the last he heard or saw of them.
He said he later checked the battery which was still green, indicating very little battery had been used if any at all.
Mr McCabe said he later got a call from gardaí asking for permission to search the property.
On 29 April, he visited the property which was "abandoned" and there was no sign of life. He said the three dogs which the couple had were gone.
The trial also heard that the son of a man who associated with Ms Lawrence and her boyfriend contacted gardaí after he said he was threatened by a brother of one of the deceased Eoin O’Connor.
The jury has previously been told that Jason Symes had connections with Ms Lawrence’s boyfriend and would give evidence about conversations with Ms Lawrence and her boyfriend during which they allegedly openly discussed the murder of the two men and the disposal of the bodies.
The jury was also told that Mr Symes had left the country with Ms Lawrence and her boyfriend in the days after the murders but returned two weeks later and was interviewed by gardaí.
A statement from his son, Sean Symes, was read to the court today in which he said a large group of men had called to his home on two occasions looking for his father.
He said Eoin O’Connor’s brother Rory had said he was only interested in finding his brother and did not care about money that was owed.
Sean Symes said Rory O’Connor also accused him of lying when he told him he did not know where his father was.
He said the men were "roaring and shouting" at him and he was threatened that his throat would be slit and his fingers and toes cut off in front of his children.
He was told he had 24 hours to tell where his father was.
In his statement, Sean Symes said he was terrified and had told the men he had nothing to do with it. He told Gardai "I just want to be safe".
Other neighbours of Jason Symes told the court he had been a local weed dealer and that people were constantly calling to the house in Woodlands in Ballyjamesduff.
One said after Eoin O’Connor and Anthony Keegan went missing there were groups of men around the place putting up posters and rumours of people being "kidnapped" and taken into cars for questioning.
The trial continues next week.
