Black Widow conviction may block inheritance
Court dismisses nevin estate appeal
BLACK Widow Catherine Nevin’s estate may not benefit from the assets of the husband she murdered, following a court ruling.
Supreme Court judges yesterday unanimously dismissed an appeal by the executors of her estate against a finding the conviction was admissible in those proceedings as evidence of her guilt in Tom Nevin’s killing.
Her lawyers had argued the conviction did not amount to proof of her guilt and was proof only she was “found guilty”.
Nevin died in a hospice in February last year, having been given compassionate temporary release from her life sentence. Giving the Supreme Court judgment, Ms Justice Iseult O’malley said an admission of guilt is always admissible as an admission against interest in an estate.
In this case, she was satisfied with evidence of the conviction “is in principle admissible”. While proof of a conviction might in one sense be seen simply as evidence of jury opinion, it is an opinion that carries far greater weight than that of a witness in a hearing by virtue of the nature of the process by which it is produced, she said.
The proper approach to the relevant provision of the Succession Act, Section 120, remains to be determined, she stressed.
Nevin was convicted in 2000 of the murder after a 42-day trial in the Central Criminal Court.
The victim’s mother Nora initiated proceedings in November 1997 seeking that his widow be disinherited. Mr Nevin died without having made a will and the couple had no children which usually means the entire estate goes to the deceased’s spouse.
Mr Nevin was murdered in 1996 at Jack White’s Inn in Brittas, Co Wicklow, the pub was jointly owned by the couple.
Nevin re-opened it for a short time before it was sold in 1997 for IR£620,000.
Number of days murder trial lasted at Central Criminal Court in 2000
Year Tom Nevin was killed by Catherine Nevin who got life in jail