Woman charged with boyfriend's murder due to be extradited to NI

A 29-year-old woman wanted over the murder of her boyfriend in Belfast today consented to being handed over to British authorities under the first European Arrest Warrant served between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Sarah Jane Delaney, originally from Manchester, had been on the run for almost three years following her arrest for the murder of William Shaw.

Mr Shaw was found dead in a burnt-out derelict house on Camden Street in south Belfast in March 2002.

He had suffered extensive head injuries.

Delaney signed the consent form at the High Court in Dublin. But she will remain in custody at Mountjoy Women’s Prison until June 16.

The High Court will rule whether the warrant can be postponed to allow Delaney to complete a drug and alcohol detox programme.

Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan, president of the High Court, told Miss Delaney that she had consented to her being surrendered to British authorities but that a second hearing would be held to rule on postponement of the warrant.

“Nothing will happen until the 16th to see if it’s appropriate that you will be kept here to complete your detoxification,” the judge said.

Delaney was found in the burnt-out house in south Belfast in March 2002 and subsequently arrested and charged with the murder of her boyfriend Shaw.

The Manchester woman who at the time was hooked on alcohol and drugs was granted bail but absconded.

She was rearrested and fled a second time.

Delaney was arrested by police officers in Ballyfermot, west Dublin, on April 22 following a tip-off to police in the North.

She is wanted by detectives in the Police Service of Northern Ireland to answer a charge of murder and one of arson.

Delaney will appear before the High Court again on June 16.

The European Arrest Warrant system was introduced in January 2004 in a bid to speed up the extradition process across a number of European Union states.