Murder accused tried to get victim’s email and Facebook hacked

A Dublin man tried to have his ex-girlfriend’s Facebook and email accounts hacked a week before he is alleged to have murdered her in a hotel room, his trial has heard.

The court also heard that the woman described Eric Locke as a “whack job” to a friend, and had asked the accused to stop looking over at her at work because it was distressing her.

Mr Locke (35) is on trial at the Central Criminal Court charged with murdering Sonia Blount in a room at the Plaza Hotel in Tallaght on February 16th, 2014.

Mr Locke, of St John’s Park East in Clondalkin, has pleaded not guilty but admits causing the death of Ms Blount, who was found strangled and suffocated.

The court heard on Wednesday that Mr Locke had threatened suicide when their relationship broke down that January. They then exchanged messages about his health and recovery.

Garda Mark Shortt on Thursday gave details of more messages to the jury. In one, Mr Locke accused Ms Blount of blanking him when he returned to work and of being cold-hearted. He said it was making him feel like a monster.

She denied this, but asked him to stop looking over at her during work.

The last text message exchanged between them was on February 8th, 2014. The following day, Mr Locke asked his sister to inquire if an acquaintance could hack Ms Blount’s Facebook page.

“I need a favour. I’m back with that girl,” he told his sister, Kim Locke. “She’s ripping me off behind my back.”

He said he had information from two reliable sources at work but needed to know for sure if it was true, so he could stay away from her.

“Can you ask Tappo to hack her Facebook page?”

He added: “Don’t like being messed about like that if it’s true.”

Mr Locke was told it could not be done because her profile was private and his sister advised him to approach the girl or just walk away.

However, Mr Locke then asked if “Tappo” could hack into emails. He was told he could not do this either.

New identity

The jury then heard the content of what was described as “Facebook chat between Sonia Blount and Shane Cully/Eric Locke.” It’s the State’s case that Eric Locke had created Shane Cully’s identity on the site in order to meet her.

The court heard and saw intimate messages and pictures shared between them. They arranged to meet for sex at the Plaza Hotel on the night of February 15th, 2014.

The court had already seen footage of Ms Blount arriving at her room in the hotel that evening, and of Mr Locke arriving at the room a couple of hours later.

More footage showed Mr Locke running away from the hotel around 5.40am, hours before her body was found on the floor of the room, along with an imitation firearm, cable ties and duct tape.

Many of the messages focused on Mr Cully repeatedly asking her to leave a key card for him at reception.

She was already in the room and repeatedly pleaded with him not to make her do that, suggesting he just knock on the door. She eventually organised the key card for him and he told her he would let her know when at the hotel.

However, the last message between them was sent at 11.58pm, with Ms Blount asking: “You close? Falling asleep here.”

The jury had seen Mr Locke leave the reception desk around that time.