DEALER'S WIDOW REFUSES TO TESTIFY

The widow of a murdered drug dealer, who has failed to turn up at his
inquest on 12 occasions, has refused to appear because she knows the
identity of his killer, gardai believe.

Last Tuesday, the Coroner's Court said that Linda Lee, whose husband Gerard
was murdered at a house party in Coolock on March 9, 1996, had had her last
chance and Coroner Dr Brian Farrell said he would ask the Attorney General
to begin High Court proceedings against her. It's the first time that the
Coroner has had to force a witness to give evidence. "We are setting a
precedent," Dr Farrell said. Gerard Lee's immediate family want the inquest
to proceed and have had representation every time the court has convened.

Detectives who investigated the murder are perplexed by his widow's
non-appearance. Linda Lee is unable to dispose of any of her husband's
assets until she obtains a death certificate, which will not happen until
the inquest has reached its conclusion.

"She has obviously decided that she's just not going to say anything about
it. But this is an inquest, not a trial. There is no evidence that she has
been threatened and at this stage she is not facing serious
cross-examination about the identity of the shooter," a detective source
said yesterday.

When the High Court hearing proceeds it is likely that she will face
imprisonment, as failure to attend an inquest can be treated as contempt of
court.

Meanwhile, sources say it is unlikely anybody will ever face trial in
connection with Lee's murder. It is believed that he was set up by a person
at the party, which he was persuaded to return to at 3am on March 9.