Prison report says Nevin ‘had nowhere to go’
CONVICTED killer Catherine Nevin had nowhere to go when she was first given temporary release from prison and only left when she was diagnosed with a terminal illness.
In a report by the Inspector of Prisons, Helen Casey, who referred to Ms Nevin as Prisoner E, Ms Casey said no further investigation is needed into Ms Nevin’s death.
Ms Casey is required to investigate the circumstances around the death of any prisoner in custody or on temporary release.
In her report presented to the Minister for Justice, Charlie Flanagan, Ms Casey said that she did not meet with members of the deceased’s family but offered them her condolences.
In her report, Ms Casey outlined that following a Parole Board review a Ministerial decision was made in July 2016 to release the deceased on Reviewable Temporary Release.
However, ‘due to issues in securing appropriate accommodation the release did not take place at that time and she remained in prison.’
Ms Casey said that having examined the prison records, ‘I found that the deceased became ill on September 20, 2016 and was admitted to the Mater Hospital where she was diagnosed with a terminal illness’.
She went on to say that Ms Nevin ‘remained in hospital and on September 23, 2016, records show she was given Reviewable Temporary Release for the purpose of hospital/medical care’.
On November 7, 2016, Ms Nevin was moved to an Acute Post Care unit while undergoing medical treatment for her condition.
Ms Casey said that Ms Nevin ‘remained at the Acute Post Care Unit until August 21, 2017 when she received reviewable temporary release for pre-release/resocialisation’.
She said that Ms Nevin was provided with supported accommodation and remained there until she was admitted to hospital on November 6 last.
‘The deceased remained in hospital until December 4, 2017 when she was transferred to a hospice care facility, where she remained until her death on February 10, 2018,’ the report said.
Ms Casey said prison records showed that the deceased satisfied the terms of her RTR and that there were ‘no significant matters’ that required further investigation.
She said the cause of death would be a matter for the coroner.
In 2000 Catherine Nevin was convicted of the murder of her husband, Tom Nevin, at their home in Jack White’s Inn, Brittas Bay in March 1996 during a staged robbery.
Known as the Black Widow, she never revealed the identity of her husband’s killer, taking the secret to her grave.