‘Sharon one of nicest people you could meet’

VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT OF P J HOWARD

“My two sons, Robert and Niall, got an invitation from the gardaí on October 15, 2008, to make a victim impact statement but at no stage was that courtesy extended to me, even though they have my telephone numbers.

“I have known Sharon Collins for approximately nine years. During that time she had made a good home for us all and we were extremely happy together and got on very well. Sharon has a very positive outlook on life and she was very loving and giving of her time to our extended families. Sharon always kept an even keel and I have never known her to do anything drastic over those years. She is a very straightforward and honest person and if she wanted anything, she would ask.

“Sharon is one of the nicest people you could ever have been fortunate to know. She is a caring, loving and decent lady.

“This has been a very emotional and stressful time for me personally. I will not give up on Sharon and would have no hesitation whatsoever in living with her again. In view of the guilty verdict I would ask your lordship to consider Sharon’s redeeming features and exercise your discretion and ask you to be lenient in your sentencing. I am asking the court not to impose a custodial sentence as I do not believe that Sharon poses any threat to my sons. I ask the court to consider how a prison sentence would affect her mother, her two sons and myself.

“This is an extremely stressful situation for me and the prospect of Sharon being in prison for a long time is adding to this stress. Sharon has for many years overseen the dispensing of my medication and has been of great assistance to me in this regard. I have had no fear and still have no fear of her doing this. For that reason I do not accept the submission by the authorities at Sharon’s bail hearing that I was in fear of my life.

“Even allowing for this entire case and the jury’s guilty verdict, I am nonetheless not in any way in fear of Sharon. I have always made this perfectly clear to the gardaí that I was never in fear of Sharon either before and again after the guilty verdict. In my view, the gardaí have always known this. For that reason I do not accept what was submitted on behalf of the DPP at Sharon’s bail hearing when it was stated that I was in fear of my life.

“I would like to take this opportunity to refute the allegations made against me in the court case and I wish to deny any and all of those allegations. I have never seen nor was I told by the gardaí about an email that was supposedly sent to the Gerry Ryan Show.

“In the circumstances I would urge the court to take into account that Sharon has never been before the courts in these circumstances previously and it is in my view that she will never so appear again.

“I am urging the court not to impose a custodial sentence.”