Double murderer Hazel Stewart has been refused leave to appeal against the length of her sentence for killing her policeman husband and the wife of her ex-lover.
A panel of judges at the Court of Appeal in Belfast ruled that the sentence imposed on Stewart, 62, a former Sunday school teacher, was 鈥渘either wrong nor manifestly excessive鈥.
Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan told the court that Stewart鈥檚 latest attempted appeal would have caused 鈥渟tress and upset鈥 to the families of those she killed.
Stewart鈥檚 lawyer described the ruling as disappointing, but said it 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 end the quest to highlight that she was a victim of coercive control鈥.
She is serving a minimum 18 years behind bars for the killing of Constable Trevor Buchanan, 32, and 31-year-old Lesley Howell, the wife of her former lover Colin Howell.
Both were found in a fume-filled garage in Castlerock, Co Londonderry, in May 1991.
Police originally believed they had died in a suicide pact, after discovering that their partners were having an extra-marital affair.
Instead, they had been drugged and murdered and their bodies arranged to make it look as though they had taken their own lives.
Nearly two decades passed before dentist Howell, 65, confessed to both killings.
He implicated Stewart and she was ordered to serve at least 18 years, at her trial in 2011.
Stewart launched her appeal against the length of her sentence on the basis of fresh psychiatric evidence that suggested she was suffering from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder at the time of the murders and had been coercively controlled by Howell.
Stewart, wearing a pale blue T-shirt and a cross necklace, watched the court of appeal ruling via a videolink from Hydebank Prison.
Dame Siobhan said the fresh psychiatric evidence had been presented 鈥渨ell after the event鈥 and 鈥減laces reliance on prison records to contradict the case made by all other experts鈥.
She said: 鈥淓ven if there were any traction in the points now made, which we do not find, the trial judge also made allowance for Howell鈥檚 control in the sentence he passed.
鈥淣o injustice arises in refusing to reopen this long-concluded appeal on these facts.鈥
The Lady Chief Justice added: 鈥淲e record this was a double murder of spouses in the cruellest of circumstances.
鈥淥ur overall view is that the sentence was neither wrong nor manifestly excessive.
鈥淲e refuse leave to admit the new evidence or to extend time as we are not convinced the new evidence establishes a valid ground of appeal.
鈥淲e are similarly not convinced that a fulsome enough explanation why this evidence was not produced earlier has been provided.
鈥淚n reaching our conclusion we reiterate the need for finality in criminal proceedings, we must deduce from this appeal that the applicant does not fully appreciate that.
鈥淲hat must be self-evident is the stress and upset this latest appeal attempt will have caused to the families of the deceased.鈥
Dame Siobhan said the original trial judge had been cited on the issue of Howell鈥檚 control of Stewart and he altered her sentence accordingly.
She concluded: 鈥淲e find no merit in any of the points raised on appeal.鈥
Stewart鈥檚 lawyer, Kevin Winters of KRW Law, said: 鈥淭oday鈥檚 decision of the Court of Appeal to refuse leave is disappointing but in many ways not unexpected given the very high bar we had to reach to convince the court to look at this relatively new issue after so many years.鈥
He added: 鈥淭oday鈥檚 ruling doesn鈥檛 end the quest for Hazel Stewart to highlight that she was a victim of coercive control.
鈥淪he engaged with the criminal justice agencies in an open and transparent manner to present as a victim of criminality.
鈥淪he made her case to a specialist abuse unit of the PSNI to allege that she was drugged, sexually and mentally abused and raped by Colin Howell.
鈥淔or that she is to be commended in taking the decision to come forward. It wasn鈥檛 taken lightly.鈥
Mr Winters said: 鈥淚t shouldn鈥檛 be lost on any one that Hazel Stewart has the full backing and support of her family which includes Trevor Buchanan鈥檚 two children.
鈥淭hat support has been with her ever since her conviction for her role in the double killing of her husband and Colin Howell鈥檚 wife over 20 years ago.
鈥淭hat support has been here as well throughout the criminal investigation against Colin Howell and right up until today鈥檚 appeal ruling.鈥