Eleanor Donaldson, the wife of former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson, is unfit to stand trial, a judge has ruled.
Judge Paul Ramsey made his decision after medical evidence regarding Eleanor Donaldson’s health was given at a hearing at Newry Crown Court on Wednesday.
Eleanor Donaldson (59), with an address in Dromore, Co Down, is charged with five counts of aiding and abetting in connection with charges of sexual offences facing her husband.
She will now face a trial of the facts.
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The judge will rule on Thursday on whether that trial of the facts will run concurrently with the trial of Jeffrey Donaldson, or as separate proceedings at a different time.
A trial of the facts takes the place of a criminal trial where a court has ruled the defendant is medically unfit to stand trial.
The jury will determine, on the basis of evidence already given, whether the individual committed the acts they are charged with. It cannot result in a conviction, but the jury can make a finding that they committed the act, or it can return a verdict of acquittal.
Jeffrey Donaldson (63), of the same address, is accused of 18 offences – one count of rape, four of gross indecency with or towards a child, and 13 of indecent assault on a female, on dates between 1987 and 2008.
Both Eleanor and Jeffrey Donaldson deny the charges.
Following the judge’s ruling, legal argument was heard on Wednesday on the format of the trial, which cannot be disclosed due to reporting restrictions.
The couple were not in court as neither defendant was required to attend.
The trial, which was originally due to begin in March 2025, has already been postponed twice due to a deterioration in the mental health of Eleanor Donaldson.
At a previous hearing on Tuesday, the court heard the trial was “on track” to begin as scheduled next week.
The longstanding MP for Lagan Valley, Jeffrey Donaldson resigned as DUP leader and was suspended from the party after he was arrested and charged with sex offences in March 2024.
Weeks before his arrest, he had led the DUP back into Stormont after a two-year boycott of the Northern Ireland power-sharing institutions.
The then deputy leader, Gavin Robinson, the MP for east Belfast, took over as DUP leader.
