A woman cleared of killing her husband has been forced to hand over up to £100,000 following an investigation by the North's Assets Recovery Agency.
Lesley Gault (38), who was tried three times for the murder, reached a settlement with the agency. It covers a life insurance policy and the family's Co Antrim home.
Her husband, Paul, was battered to death with her old hockey stick by her former lover, Gordon Graham, in May 2000, soon after their two-year affair was discovered. Graham was jailed for life.
Police alleged Ms Gault, a mother of triplets, had benefited from her husband's death, having received his life insurance and inheriting his share of the family home in Audley Avenue, Lisburn. The investigation discovered that the proceeds of the assets amounted to the equivalent of 75 per cent of the value of another property bought by Ms Gault after the murder. It is estimated to be worth between £120,000 and £130,000.
The agency's assistant director, Alan McQuillan, said its primary concern "is making sure crime does not pay; in this particular case we have reached a settlement". Ms Gault co-operated with the investigation and, although she did not admit culpability in the murder, agreed to settle.
Graham, from Ballygowan, Co Down, was convicted when the pair were first tried together in November 2002. When the jury failed to reach a verdict on Ms Gault, she was retried and found guilty by a majority decision the following March.
Although jailed for life, Ms Gault won the right to a third trial when it was found that her jury had been misdirected. The prosecution alleged she had planned the murder with Graham in the days after her husband found out about their relationship. The pair had worked together at the Northern Ireland Fire Service.
It was alleged that Ms Gault arranged for her husband to be home alone on the morning of the killing, but she strenuously denied the allegations, telling how she admitted to the affair and wanted to rescue her marriage.