Provisional liquidator appointed for Coast stores
Woman left DNA in car during tiger raid in case she died, court told
A POSTMISTRESS heard screaming before two men burst into her bedroom during a €90,000 tiger kidnapping, a court has heard.
Susan Lawlor said she managed to ring a special “tiger raid hotline number” issued by An Post and had slid her phone under her bed covers, when a man dressed in black entered her room.
She added this intruder, who she named “Number 1”, demanded to know if she’d made a call.
Ms Lawlor told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court she denied this, handed over her phone and then the man was joined by another intruder dressed in black.
She said this man “Number 2” brought her daughter Emma Carter and Italian student Gabriella Saisa into the room.
Ms Lawlor added: “My freedom was taken from me in minutes and my concern was for my daughter and Gabriella... I was very concerned, I Coast shop thought they were going to kill me and I feared for my life”.
She claimed these men tied her and the other two women’s hands with cable ties and bundled them all into the backseat of her car, before driving them to a field in an unknown location.
Ms Lawlor told prosecutor Kerida Naidoo she saw a small black handgun on her bed before leaving the house in the early hours of that morning four years ago.
She also described how she spat in the backseat of a car and plucked a hair out as the kidnappers drove her to the post office.
She told the court: “If I died, I wanted gardai to know I’d been in the car.”
Ms Lawlor told Mr Naidoo the intruders didn’t give any explanation as to why they were in her home THE High Court has appointed a provisional liquidator to a woman’s fashion chain.
Coast Stores Ireland Ltd, which is part of the Uk-based Coast group of outlets, operates five stand-alone stores and a further 10 concession stands in Ireland.
It cited difficulties experienced but they wanted her post office and car keys and were “anxious” to get on the road.
She said she had tape put over her eyes and could not see while the kidnappers were driving in her Nissan.
Ms Lawlor described the men being agitated on the phone to a third person, who appeared to have gotten lost.
She told the court her own phone rang in her handbag, which the raiders had taken with them.
Ms Lawlor said: “The Number 1 guy freaked and said, ‘Who the f*** is ringing you at this hour of the morning?’”
She said her daughter tried to calm the situation by suggesting it was one of the neighbours, adding: “I feared for my life because the Number 1 guy kept
DUBLIN COURT YESTERDAY
by its parent, including the collapse of the department store House of Fraser, and difficult market conditions as the reasons for seeking the liquidator’s appointment.
The parent company had been engaged in a sales process, which had been accelerated in recent months. The court was told it is saying he was going to shoot me
I’d made the call.”
Ms Lawlor described how she was allegedly threatened and beaten by Number 1 when she told the raiders the post office safe was on a timer, but they eventually drove her to her workplace and allegedly robbed the cash.
Paschal Kelly, 52, with an address at Cootehill in Co Cavan, has pleaded not guilty to trespass and falsely imprisoning Ms Lawlor, Ms Carter and Ms Saisa at Seabury Drive, Malahide, Dublin, on September 25, 2014.
He pleaded not guilty to robbing Ms Lawlor of cash at Bayside Post Office, Sutton, Dublin, and threatening to kill her, Ms Carter and Ms Saisa at an unknown location.
Kelly has also denied unlawful possession of a vehicle, all on the same date.
The trial continues before Judge Karen O’connor. hoped the liquidator’s appointment will see parts of the Irish business sold off to a new parent firm and many of the 99 jobs will be saved.
Yesterday afternoon Ms Justice Caroline Costello said she was satisfied to appoint insolvency practitioner Mr Declan Mcdonald of Pricewaterhousecoopers as if
If I died I wanted gardai to know I had been in the car SUSAN LAWLOR
provisional liquidator to the Coast Stores Ireland Ltd. Seeking the appointment, the company’s Kelley Smith said the decision to have the firm wound up was taken by the board in recent days.
After confirming Mr Mcdonald’s appointment, the judge adjourned the matter to a date next month.