GUILTY OF 2 MURDERS

Lawrence faces life in jail after two men shot dead

- ALISON O'RIORDAN

ELEVEN years after the bodies of two missing men were found bound and buried in a shallow grave, a woman has been found guilty of their murders.

A jury at the Central Criminal Court agreed with prosecutors that Ruth Lawrence worked “as a unit” with her boyfriend Neville van der Westhuizen to kill drug dealer Eoin O'Connor, 32, after they lured him to their home.

The State contended Anthony Keegan, 33, was shot by South African native Van der Westhuizen and the jury accepted their argument that he and Lawrence, 46, also acted as a team in that murder and were equally liable for the outcome.

The jury panel had deliberated on their verdicts for close to 14 hours over five days.

Before the jury returned to the courtroom, trial judge Mr Justice Tony Hunt said it had been an emotional case and warned people in the gallery that he wanted the jury to complete its work “in the proper circumstances.”

He added: “That means silence - and anyone who disobeys will be in contempt of court.”

Pointing to the door leading to the cell area, he warned the gallery: “And you will go out that [the custody] door and not the back door.”