Irish Woman Accused of Double Murder in Home Country Extradited From Bloemfontein Almost 10 Years After Crimes

• An alleged Irish double murderer has been extradited home to answer for killing her friends
• Ruth Lawrence fled to South Africa after the murders in 2014 but was eventually tacked to a bungalow in Bloemfontein in 2022
• Lawrence's ex-fiance, who allegedly committed the crimes with her, was tracked to a KZN prison where he is serving time for another murder

BLOEMFONTEIN - The Irish fugitive who was nabbed in an Interpol-led sting in October 2022 is finally heading back home to answer for her crimes.

Irish woman extradited from South Africa for double murder case

Ruth Lawrence is wanted for a double murder in Ireland in 2014 and was found hunkered down in Bloemfontein after eight years on the run.

Police spokesperson Maj-Gen Mathapelo Peters said a member of the Irish police arrived in South Africa this week to transport her back to her home country.

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Irish woman flees to SA with ex-fiance after murdering close friends

According to the Irish Mirror, Lawrence fled Ireland after the brutal murders of her close friends Eoin O'Conner and Anthony Keegan.

O'Conner and Keegan were found buried in a shallow grave with gunshot wounds to the head. Lawrence is believed to have committed the crimes with her fiance at the time, Neville van der Westhuizen.

Van der Westhuizen is currently serving a 15-year sentence in a KwaZulu-Natal prison for another murder. His extradition process is underway in the Durban magistrate's court, TimesLIVE reported.

Mzansi divided by Irish double murderers extradition from SA

Below are some comments:

@Nino_Gaggi_ asked:

"How did she make it into SA if she was already wanted in her home country?"

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@Tsentsho1 complained:

"So sad that we help these countries to extradite their criminals, but we don't get the same service in return."

Dawn Chapman praised:

"It's taken a while but looks like we are better at apprehending foreign criminals..."

Rose Kgabu

"So she decided to come to SA because was an easy country to enter and hide in."

Ronald Lamola to appeal UAE’s decision dismissal of Guptas’ extradition to SA, brothers set to stay there

In another story, Briefly News reported that in a shocking twist to the Gupta brothers' extradition case, the United Arab Emirates has dismissed SA's application based on a technicality.

Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola is dissatisfied with the dismissal and vowed to appeal the decision.

According to a diplomatic note sent to the department, an AUE court found that the arrest warrants for Rajesh and Atul Gupta had been cancelled. Additionally, it found that the UAE had jurisdiction to prosecute the brothers on money laundering charges.

Source: Briefly News