Second night in hotel for hitman trial jury

THE jury in the hitman for hire murder conspiracy trial spent a second night in a hotel last night after they failed to reach a verdict after almost five-and-a-half hours of deliberation yesterday.

The eight male and four female jurors will return to the Central Criminal Court at 10am today in a further attempt to agree verdicts on 10 different charges.

Sharon Collins of Ballybeg House, Kildysart Road, Ennis, Co Clare, and Essam Eid with an address in Las Vegas, USA, are accused of conspiring to murder Ennis businessman, PJ Howard and his two sons, Robert and Niall, on a date between August 1, 2006, and September 26, 2006. Both Collins and Eid, an Egyptian national and former poker dealer, have pleaded not guilty to the charge.