Deal for woman accused of murdering Irish priest

A Florida judge has accepted the plea deal for a woman who killed an 80-year-old Irish priest with a cement block.

Delta Sue Allen, 34, will be sentenced on February 18 for her role in the death of Father Oliver Barrett, the former pastor at St Anne’s Catholic Church in Brownsville.

Chief Circuit Judge John Kuder could jail her for anything between 14 and 40 years but the plea deal means the prosecution will drop a murder charge and she will not get a life sentence.

The deal required her to admit attempted first-degree murder, robbery with a deadly weapon and battery of an elderly person .

Allen went to the church to seek money, then beat Father Barrett so savagely that he never fully recovered from his injuries and died in his native Ireland 11 months later.

Allen, who had planned to enter a plea of insanity, cried during the hearing before Judge Kuder, saying she only remembered some parts of the beating.

Jackie and Don White were two of Father Barrett’s closest friends, knowing him even before he served as pastor of St Anne’s Church .

They went to all of Allen’s court proceedings since she her arrest and kept Barrett’s family members in Ireland informed of the progress.

“I definitely don’t want revenge, because that’s not a good Christian way to think,” said Jackie White, 70. “But I think it’s important that she’s aware of what she’s done and she’s off the streets.”

Jackie White said she was more concerned for the small group of about 55 families who attended Father Barrett’s church and had to watch as their beloved pastor wilted away.

“It’s been a long and stressful road these two years and we just want it to be over for everyone,” Jackie White said. “They loved him so much and he was such a humble servant to them.”