‘Lying Eyes’ target sitting on €27.5m in assets

The purported main target of a murder plot by Ennis woman Sharon Collins is sitting on assets with a value of €27.5m in one company alone.

Accounts filed by the main property firm owned by Co Clare man, PJ Howard show that Downes & Howard Ltd bucked the recessionary trend to record profits in 2011 and increase the value of its fixed assets from €27.3m to €27.5m.

Last month, Mr Howard’s former partner, Sharon Collins, aged 48, secured full release from prison after serving a sentence for soliciting Essam Eid to kill Mr Howard, aged 63, and his sons, Robert and Niall.

Yesterday, Ms Collins’s solicitor, Patrick Moylan confirmed that his client is writing a book on the case and is planning to write a book on her time at the Dóchas prison in Dublin.

Ms Collins continues to maintain her innocence and when asked if she has secured a publishing deal yet, Mr Moylan said: “Negotiations are ongoing.”

Mr Moylan also said that Ms Collins is no longer reticent about returning to her hometown of Ennis — last year, she had said she would not return to Ennis on her release from prison due to media intrusion.

Mr Moylan said: “Sharon has been back in Ennis and got a very good and warm welcome from her friends there. She is spending time in Ennis and enjoying her time there.”

In the case, the prosecution maintained that Ms Collins was motivated by money and was trying to inherit Mr Howard’s multi-million euro fortune.

Ms Collins was accused of using the pseudonym lyingeyes98 to investigate the hiring of a hitman on the internet.