Mum-of-eight booked hotel stays with gunman husband during garda manhunt, court told

Alison O'Riordan

A mother-of-eight stayed in hotels with her "cocaine shovelling" husband as gardaí hunted him for murdering her brother-in-law with a submachine gun, the Central Criminal Court was told today.

The court heard that Jenifer Devine had "taken refuge" with her husband in two hotels following the murder, while her lawyers submitted that she had been in an "unhealthy and emotionally abusive" relationship with "a man of very significant violence".

On the day her trial was due to open last November, Devine (43) pleaded guilty to a charge of withholding information on the murder, while her husband's trial went ahead the following day.

On November 26th, last Jenifer Devine (43), with an address at Convent Lawns, Kylemore Road, Ballyfermot in Dublin 10 pleaded guilty that on a date between January 9th and 13th, 2022, at various locations in the State, being a person who had information which she knew or believed might be of material assistance in securing the apprehension of Christopher Devine regarding the death of Michael Tormey; failed without reasonable excuse to disclose that information to a member of An Garda Síochána.

In December, a jury convicted her husband Christopher of murder, finding he was not suffering from a "substance-induced psychotic disorder" after "shovelling" cocaine into himself when he opened fire on Tormey.

Christopher Devine (44), also with an address at Convent Lawns, had pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to the manslaughter of Tormey (49) at Thomond Road in Ballyfermot in the early hours of January 9th, 2022.

The trial heard evidence that Devine, who told gardaí that he was Tormey's best man at his wedding, drove to the victim's home and shot him five times.

Devine repeatedly denied to gardaí that he murdered Tormey and the weapon used - an MP5 pattern submachine gun - was never recovered.

Tormey was struck by five bullets in his front garden which went through his body, causing bleeding, rib fractures and partial lung collapse.

Sentence hearing

At the outset of Friday's sentencing hearing, Michael Bowman SC with Maria Brosnan BL, defending, apologised to the judge for his client's failure to attend court last week, citing her "ongoing difficulties of a personal nature", which he agreed was not an excuse.

Brosnan previously told the court that Devine was suffering from serious mental health issues and required medical attention.

Detective Garda Sharon Hanley detailed the background of the event, telling Garret Baker SC, prosecuting, that the deceased man Tormey was Devine's brother-in-law.

Baker said evidence was given at Christopher Devine's trial that there was quite a chaotic scene at Convent Lawns on January 9th, where Devine was in a distressed state and had self-harmed. Counsel said there was an aborted attempt to bring her to hospital to seek medical attention. He said Mr Devine was seen in possession of a gun in the family home before he drove to the victim's home and murdered Tormey.

Counsel said the couple left their home with one of their youngest children on January 9th, 2022 and spent the next four days in two hotels when gardaí were looking for them.

The lawyer said both of the hotel bookings at the Osprey Hotel in Naas and The Glenview Hotel in Wicklow were made by Devine and paid for in cash. He said the stay at the Osprey Hotel was from January 9th to 11th and the second stay at The Glenview Hotel was from January 11th to 13th.

The detective said the couple were arrested in Ballyfermot on January 13th and Devine was interviewed up to 17 times over five days. Baker said as those interviews evolved Devine made detailed admissions of being with her husband over those four days.

The detective said the couple had been together since they were teenagers. The court heard that Devine has six previous convictions for minor offences.

Baker said a victim impact statement had been prepared by the deceased's widow Amy Tormey, who is Devine's sister. He asked that the statement be handed into court but not read aloud.

Under cross-examination, the detective agreed with Bowman that the deceased being related through marriage to Devine was a "tragic feature" of the case. "The families were very close and even on the day Jenifer Devine had gone down to the scene of the murder," said counsel.

Bowman said the Devine home was extremely chaotic on the day of the murder and the night before. He said Devine was in a state of extreme distress and there had been a plan that the couple would go to the hotel in the early evening.

Devine, he said, had indicated to her children there had been "talk of a divorce" but that divorce papers had not yet been signed. Counsel said his client had told her children that the couple had wanted one evening together before this.

The barrister said Mr Devine was a chronic cocaine user and had been using large amounts of the drug at the time, as well as acting paranoid. He said a witness had given evidence at Mr Devine's trial that Jenifer Devine was "literally petrified" of her husband".

The detective agreed that on the evening before the murder Ms Devine was crying, had said she didn't want anything further to do with her husband and hoped he would kill himself. Bowman said Ms Devine came downstairs after midnight in a state of high distress, having attempted to cut her wrists and neck with glass. He said the defendant fell over as she was so weak and an attempt was made to get her to hospital.

When Ms Devine went back upstairs, her husband drove to Thomond Road in Ballyfermot to murder Tormey. Counsel said the couple and their youngest child had gone to the first of two hotels the following day.

During her interviews, the detective said Devine indicated she was afraid of her husband and called him "a snake". The defendant said her children were her priority and that her husband told her nothing; telling gardaí: "He knows I would rat on him."

In a letter handed into the court, a friend of Ms Devine said Jenifer remembers her husband telling her they had to leave their home as their lives were at risk. She wrote that the defendant was now a shell of her former self.

Undoubtedly, Mr Bowman submitted, Ms Devine was in an unhealthy and emotionally abusive relationship with a man of very significant violence. "She is described as being terrified of him. That said, she was in his company for a number of days when she ought not to have done".

Counsel described his client's commitment to her children as steadfast. He asked the judge to leave Ms Devine within the community and mark her offending behaviour with a suspended sentence.

Greally remanded Ms Devine on continuing bail until April 16th, when she will be sentenced.