Irishwoman Ruth Lawrence was nabbed in Bloemfontein by the Hawks. Image: Supplied.
Irishwoman says she will go home to face double murder case
Ruth Lawrence was expected to apply for bail on Wednesday. Instead, she told the court she wants to be extradited.
Irishwoman Ruth Lawrence was nabbed in Bloemfontein by the Hawks. Image: Supplied.
The Irishwoman who was arrested earlier in October after years on the run made her second appearance in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, 12 October. Ruth Lawrence was expected to apply for bail but seemingly had a change of heart since her last appearance a week ago.
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Lawrence is wanted by the Irish authorities in connection with the 2014 double murder of Eoin O’Connor and Anthony Keegan in County Meath, Ireland.
The Irishwoman, who originally hails from Clontarf, Dublin, told the court that she is willing to return to Ireland to face the charges against her. Her case was postponed to 16 November 2022 for extradition.
“The postponement is for South African and Irish authorities to work on logistical arrangements on how she will be handed to Irish officials by SA,” said National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson in the Free State, Phaladi Shuping, to The South African.
Lawrence and her then-boyfriend – a South African – Neville Peter van der Westhuizen fled Ireland in 2014 after the double murder.
In September, the Hawks received information about Lawrence’s whereabouts in Bloemfontein, which led to her arrest in Pellisier on 4 October. Earlier this year, Interpol issued a warrant for her arrest.
According to Irish media reports, van der Westhuizen is also wanted in connection with the double murder and another 2014 murder of a drug cartel member in the country.
Van der Westhuizen is currently serving a 15-year sentence in Durban for culpable homicide, assault GBH and kidnapping charges in connection with the death of a Bluff teenager, Cody Houghton, who was 19 when he died in 2017.
Van der Westhuizen and his co-accused reportedly beat up three teenagers and forced them to drink a poisonous drink in a Bluff tattoo parlour. Houghton died the next morning.
- Ruth Lawrence: Dubliner wanted for double murder to apply for bail
- Irishwoman wanted for overseas double murder nabbed in Bloem
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