A mother of eight who went on the run with her ‘cocaine-shoveling’ husband as gardaí hunted him for murdering her brother-in-law has avoided jail.

Judge Melanie Greally noted evidence that Jenifer Devine was afraid of her husband, whom the defendant called a ‘snake’, and also noted her role as sole carer to her young children while their father is serving a life sentence.

The Central Criminal Court previously heard that Devine had ‘taken refuge’ with her husband in two hotels following the murder.

Her lawyers submitted that she had been in an ‘unhealthy and emotionally abusive’ relationship with ‘a man of very significant violence’.

On the day her trial was due to open last November, Devine, 43, with an address at Convent Lawns, Kylemore Road, Ballyfermot in Dublin 10, pleaded guilty to a charge of withholding information on the murder of Michael Tormey.

In a separate case last December, a jury convicted her husband Christopher of murder, finding he was not suffering from a ‘substanceinduced psychotic disorder’ after ‘shovelling’ cocaine into himself when he opened fire on Mr Tormey.

The trial heard evidence that Christopher Devine, 44, who told gardaí that he was Mr Tormey’s best man at his wedding, drove to the victim’s home and shot him five times.

Devine repeatedly denied to gardaí that he murdered Mr Tormey and the weapon used – an MP5 pattern submachine gun – was never recovered.

Mr Tormey was struck by five bullets in his front garden which went through his body, causing bleeding, rib fractures and partial lung collapse.

The judge noted that Jenifer Devine has a limited number of previous convictions, with four theft offences dating back to 2001 and the remainder for road offences which go back to 2006.

The judge pointed out that a witness had described her as being petrified of her husband. She said Detective Garda Sharon Hanley had accepted at the sentencing hearing that Devine told gardaí several times during her interviews that she was afraid of her husband and referred to him as ‘a snake’.

‘She said he didn’t tell her anything going on in his life as she would rat on him. She also said after the killing was made known to her, Christopher Devine said he would be next to be shot.’

Passing sentence yesterday, Judge Greally said the two families were very close but, for obvious reasons, there is now a significant rift. She said the defendant’s siblings and family are no longer in contact with her.

The judge said the couple were in a relationship since their teenage years and that Jenifer Devine is now the primary carer to their two youngest children.

She said it was accepted by the prosecuting detective that the defendant’s living circumstances are chaotic, with signs of alcohol abuse.

She said Devine has been prescribed anxiety medication since the offence and refers to her husband in derogatory terms. The judge noted that Devine has expressed her regret and said her priority is her children.

Judge Greally stressed the principal aggravating factor was that the act of withholding information was connected to a murder, ‘which is the most serious offence’.

Despite the plea, the judge said Devine did not have any interactions with gardaí during the fourday period prior to her arrest.

She said her real culpability was assisting her husband evade justice while knowing he was wanted in connection with the murder.

The court heard that the true motive for the murder remains unknown, but it was clear that it was linked to Christopher Devine’s involvement in the supply of drugs.

She said there was objective evidence that, on the evening preceding the murder, Jenifer Devine was suffering from acute mental distress and instability.

Furthermore, the judge said there is an independent account of the defendant being afraid of her husband, with undisputed evidence that he had consumed large amounts of cocaine and was behaving erratically.

She said most likely a combination of factors led Devine to accompany her husband and organise the hotels – including panic, a fear of being shot, and mental distress.

Having also considered the disintegration of Devine’s family relationships, her poor mental health and her role as sole carer to two young children, the judge said an immediate custodial sentence was not necessitated.

She added that Mr Tormey’s wife had asked for her victim impact statement not to be read aloud to the court, and the judge said that while she wouldn’t refer to its content, she fully acknowledged what the widow had expressed in her report.

The judge imposed a sentence of 18 months, suspended for 18 months on condition Devine enter into a bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour.