Policewoman admits shooting lover

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/7251086.stm

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A policewoman has admitted trying to kill her former lover when she shot him with her police issue handgun.

The pair had been having an affair, but after he tried to end the relationship she shot him twice in the neck and thigh.

Diane Northcott, 41, pleaded guilty in Belfast Crown court to the attempted murder of Sergeant Laurence Smyth. She was released on bail.

Judge Mr Justice Hart adjourned passing sentence until April.

Following her guilty plea, Sergeant Smyth was brought into court in his wheelchair.

Judge Mr Justice Hart warned the policewoman to be under no illusion that being granted bail "in anyway indicates the sentence you are going to receive - it will inevitably be a substantial one".

Prosecution QC Philip Mateer said the judge is "familiar with the background and the emotional instability" Northcott had been displaying but that overall, the Crown could have no fears over her being granted bail.