Clare woman guilty of soliciting hitman to kill partner

A Clare woman has been found guilty of soliciting a former Las Vegas poker dealer to kill her partner and his two sons by a jury at the Central Criminal Court.

The jury of eight men and four women took almost eight hours to find Sharon Collins (aged 45), with an address at Ballybeg House, Kildysart Road, Ennis guilty of conspiring to kill PJ, Robert and Niall Howard between August 1 and September 26 2006.

They also found her guilty of soliciting her co-accused Mr Essam Eid, an Egyptian with a Las Vegas address, to kill the three men.

The jury found Mr Eid guilty of demanding €100,000 with menaces from Robert Howard on September 26, 2006.

He was found not guilty of robbing the offices of Downes & Howard the previous night but guilty of handling a stolen Toshiba laptop on September 26 and being in possession of items stolen from the offices in room 218 of the Two Mile Inn Hotel in Limerick on September 27th, the date of his arrest.

The jury are still deliberating on whether to find Mr Eid guilty of conspiring with Ms Collins.

Full report to follow.