The conviction of a mother of two for conspiring to murder her wealthy partner and his two sons by hiring an online hitman cannot be upheld because her co-accused was acquitted, a court heard today.
Sharon Collins was jailed for six years in November 2008 for conspiracy to kill her partner PJ Howard and his two sons Robert and Niall Howard.
The 46-year-old was also found guilty of soliciting a man to kill the three.
The Court of Criminal Appeal was told that because her co-accused — Egyptian-born Las Vegas poker dealer Essam Eid — was acquitted of conspiracy, the state cannot uphold Collins’s conviction.
Tom O’Connell, senior counsel for the state, told the court two people had to be guilty of conspiracy.
“Logically it is simply unsustainable,” he added.
But Mr O’Connell maintained the state would contest Collins’s challenge against her conviction for soliciting.
Collins was found guilty of using the email alias Lying Eyes to find Eid, a “hitman for hire”, on the internet and setting up the killings for September 2006.
The Clare woman is fighting her conviction on three charges of soliciting Eid, while he is appealing against a six-year sentence for extortion and handling stolen property.
Collins looked immaculate as she entered the courtroom in a smart black trouser suit and white shirt with fake tan and newly highlighted blonde hair swept back.
Her son Gary sat by her side until the case started.
Brendan Grehan, senior counsel for Collins, told the hearing that his client’s appeal would focus on four main points.
They include the evidence of Teresa Engle, Eid’s partner who was a convicted felon awaiting sentence in the US, and the evidence of an alibi witness.
It will also focus on the treatment of evidence relating to the poison Ricin and the judge’s charge to the jury on the soliciting charge.