Secretary denies coaching by judge accused of duping man over €1m will

The former secretary of a district court judge accused of trying to dupe a friend out of half his estate has denied being told what to say by the accused.

Heather Perrin, aged 60, is accused of tricking Thomas Davis into bequeathing half his €1m estate to her two children while he was a client of hers when she was a solicitor.

Yesterday, Ms Perrin’s defence team called Pauline Ball, who worked for Ms Perrin for eight years and was described as a “loyal employee”.

Ms Ball insisted Ms Perrin did read over the will to Mr Davis before he signed it, including the part bequeathing half his estate to Ms Perrin’s children.

Mr Davis previously said the will was never read over to him and that he was unaware the Perrin children were such large beneficiaries until almost a year later. He also said he did not think Ms Ball was in the room.

Ms Perrin, of Lambay Court, Malahide, pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to deceptively inducing Mr Davis to bequeath half of his estate to Sybil and Adam Perrin at her office on Fairview Strand on Jan 22, 2009.

Dominic McGinn SC, prosecuting, asked Ms Ball about her two garda interviews, which were a year apart. In the first interview she said she drafted “the bones” of Mr Davis’s will in Feb 2009. The court heard previously that the will was signed before this, on Jan 22, 2009. In Ms Ball’s second interview, she stated she drafted the will “a few weeks” before it was signed.

Mr McGinn asked how her memory of events seemed to be improving over time and suggested it was because “Ms Perrin told you what to say and you’ve learned your story better”.

The witness denied this.

Ms Ball agreed that, after gardaí contacted her about the allegations, she went to see Ms Perrin’s solicitor, Sean Sexton. She initially denied that Ms Perrin had advised her to speak to Mr Sexton but after further questioning agreed it was Ms Perrin’s suggestion.

Ms Ball said she was not surprised when she learned Mr Davis had made the Perrin children major beneficiaries, as Mrs Davis “just adored those children”.