It would have perhaps been better for the Co. Tyrone native to stay in prison a bit longer, as she has been going from one controversy into another since being released on parole.
After appearing on a controversial RTE-endorsed interview, oozing crocodile remorse and pleading for an atonement that will never befall her, McCollum is now hitting the headlines once again.
During the infamous interview, the convicted smuggler stated that she had fled to Ibiza at a moment’s notice due to alleged ‘sectarian’ threats at home.
However, such statement was in direct contradiction with her mother’s version of the story. During a documentary, Ms. McCollum’s mother had said that Michaella had the Ibiza trip planned for months before actually travelling there in 2013. The journey would kickstart a chain of events that culminated in her being locked up for three years in a Peruvian prison.
Michaella’s sectarian claims have also been thrown into question by local politicians in her hometown of Dungannon, who have said that Michaella had friends from both the Republican and Unionist communities.