Publications
Partners
- An Irish fugitive has been extradited from South Africa to her home country in connection with a 2014 double murder.
- Ruth Sharon Lawrence fled Ireland with her ex-fiancé shortly after her friends, Eoin O'Connor and Anthony Keegan, were found murdered.
- In the past five years, members of Interpol's office in Pretoria, successfully arrested more than 60 fugitives wanted on extradition requests and Interpol Red Notices.
The International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) has extradited a 42-year-old Irish fugitive to her home country to face double murder charges.
Ruth Sharon Lawrence was arrested in October in connection with the 2014 murder of two people in her home country.
Free State Hawks spokesperson Captain Christopher Singo said Lawrence fled Ireland with her ex-fiancé shortly after her friends, Eoin O'Connor and Anthony Keegan, were found murdered.
How safe is your neighbourhood? Find out by using News24's CrimeCheck
Lawrence was arrested in October in Bloemfontein in connection with the murders.
National police spokesperson General Mathapelo Peters said Lawrence was handed over to the Irish police on Wednesday evening.
"The fugitive, Ruth Lawrence, was escorted from Bloemfontein to Pretoria on Wednesday, 24 May 2023, from where she was ultimately extradited later that evening. Lawrence was handed over to the Irish police, who would subsequently take her back to Ireland to face charges of murder," said Peters.
It's alleged that Lawrence and her ex-fiancé Neville van der Westhuizen were both wanted for the 2014 double murder.
Peters said:
Peters said in the past five years, members of Interpol's office in Pretoria, successfully arrested more than 60 fugitives wanted on extradition requests and Interpol Red Notices.
"Of the 60 wanted fugitives arrested, 42 fugitives have been successfully extradited and a further 27 extradition requests are currently before various courts in the Republic of South Africa," said Peters.
