72 Year Old Man Charged With Wife's Murder In Laois

Eugene Constantin was in Portlaoise District Court this morning.

A 72 year old man has been charged with the murder of his wife in Laois.

Eugene Constantin, with an address at Church Street in Portlaoise, appeared before Portlaoise District Court this morning.

On Sunday afternoon, emergency services responded to an incident at a home at Church Street.

50 year old Adina Constantin was pronounced dead at the scene.

Eugene Constantin was represented in court privately today, amid an ongoing legal aid dispute.

Detective Seargant Mark O’Connell told the court upwards of 40 phone calls were made to several solicitors while the accused was in custody, but none provided legal advice.

Judge Andrew Cody referred to a previous statement by the Law Society, which stressed the importance of equal access to legal representation, and he described the refusal of solicitors to respond to calls to represent an accused like Mr Constantin as “disgraceful”.

He said solicitors need to review their position if their previous statement is to “rise above shameless hypocrisy”.

Mr Constantin was remanded in custody to appear in court again next week via video link.

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