A mother-of-two who hired a hitman online to kill her wealthy partner and his sons was yesterday jailed for six years.
A mother-of-two who hired a hitman online to kill her wealthy partner and his sons was yesterday jailed for six years.
Sharon Collins's millionaire lifestyle in the west of Ireland and her plan to swindle her lover's inheritance both crumbled when her would-be assassin tried to blackmail his target.
Collins, 45, who used the e-mail alias Lying Eyes, hugged her own son, David, after she was jailed for conspiring to kill her partner PJ and his two sons Robert and Niall Howard between August 1 and September 26, 2006.
In a bizarre twist at the day-long sentencing in Dublin's Central Criminal Court, PJ Howard appealed for the judge to spare Collins from jail, adding: "I will not give up on Sharon."
Pleading for a suspended sentence, PJ said: "Sharon is in my opinion one of the nicest people you could ever have been fortunate to know.
"Caring, loving and a decent lady."
Collins contacted co-accused Tony Luciano - otherwise known as Essam Eid - through the internet.
Egyptian-born Las Vegas poker dealer Eid was jailed for six years for extortion.
Despite already earning $94,000 (£59,000) a year working at the renowned Bellagio casino, he was convicted of demanding 100,000 (£77,600) with menace from Robert Howard in September 2006.
Even after deliberating for almost 11 hours, the jury could not reach a verdict on the conspiracy charges against Eid and state lawyers yesterday dropped the case.
The seven-week trial has gripped Ireland.
