CELINE HUBBY CHARGED WITH HER MURDER; Accused, 51, in court over death.

Byline: By GARY ANDERSON, Crime Reporter

THE husband of Celine Cawley will appear in court this morning accused of her murder.

Eamon Lillis, 51, was charged early yesterday after he was held for 24 hours by gardai investigating glamorous Celine's death at her home last Monday.

Lillis, who worked alongside his wife at a film production company, is due to appear before court 44 of Dublin's District Court at 10.30am after being held overnight in a cell at Clontarf Garda station.

The couple's 16-year-old daughter Georgia was last night being comforted by relatives after the latest development.

A Garda spokeswoman said: "Officers investigating the murder of Celine Cawley have charged the man who was arrested on Saturday. He will remain in custody and will appear before Dublin District Court on Monday." Detectives swooped to arrest Lillis at 7.30am on Saturday at an address in Howth, North Dublin, near the EUR3million home he had shared with 46-year-old Celine and Georgia.

He could have been quizzed until late yesterday afternoon but gardai decided to formally charge him with murder before his period of detention expired.

Film producer Lillis had been one of the first people to give gardai an account of what happened to his wife before she was found in a pool of blood on the patio.

A postmortem carried out last week revealed Celine had died from severe blunt force trauma injuries to the head and face after the attack - and was battered to death with a brick. A forensic examination of the crime scene and the area around the palatial house was completed yesterday.

The funeral of ad tycoon Celine is expected to take place later this week - possibly on Christmas Eve.

Dozens of big names from the worlds of media, advertising and celebrity are expected to be among the mourners.

Friends and colleagues of Celine continued to pay tribute to the former Bond girl yesterday.

Rose Craig told how Celine had complained that she was stressed during a recent flight to France.

Ms Craig, from Dublin, met the Toy Town Films founder when she flew out for a last minute break at the plush French home her family owned in Hossegor, near Bordeaux, on September 14.

She said: "I remember thinking how marvellous she was to be the mother of a 16-year-old daughter she was clearly very devoted to, and to be a successful businesswoman at the same time.

"As she never once mentioned a partner of any kind and I didn't think it polite to inquire, I just assumed she was a single mother.

"When, for example, I asked who was looking after her daughter while she was away, she just said, 'She's fine - she is being very well looked after'.

"There was no mention whatsoever of the girl's father - she mentioned she lived in Howth but didn't say who with."

Christian Vergez, a neighbour at Celine's French holiday home, told of his shock on hearing about Celine's death.

He said: "She was full of vitality and energy - a strong woman.

"They seemed very nice, she and her husband, and we saw two very nice young girls.

"We thought they were daughters but maybe it was the daughter and a friend. It is very said to hear such news - very sad."

CAPTION(S):

BATTERED Celine; SCENE Family home in Howth, North Dublin; UNDER ARREST Garda station in Clontarf where Eamonn Lillis was charged yesterday Pic: COLLINS; SCENE Outside the house in Howth where Celine was found; CHECKS Gardai at the scene near Windgate Road in Howth