Man admits wife's murder as video discovered on phone

Gardaí gained access to a phone of a man accused of stabbing his wife to death and discovered video and audio footage of the murder, the Central Criminal Court has heard.

Stephen Mooney, 52, has pleaded guilty to murdering his wife, Anna Mooney, 46, at their home on Kilbarrack Road, Kilbarrack, Dublin on 15 June 2023.

Ms Mooney, a Ukrainian mother of two, died having suffered stab wounds in the kitchen of the home they shared.

Mooney had been due to stand trial for murder, but on 7 February 2024, prosecution Senior Counsel Desmond Dockery told the court of a "significant development" in the case.

Gardaí, he said, seized the accused's phone at the crime scene but until then were unable to access its contents as they did not have the pin code or password.

However, the Cellebrite software that gardaí use to analyse mobile phones has recently undergone an update that allows phones to be unlocked without a password.

When gardaí unlocked Mooney's phone, Mr Dockery said: "It became immediately apparent that it contained highly relevant video and audio of the minutes leading up to the fatal incident and the fatal incident itself."

Senior Counsel for Mooney, Michael Bowman, said at the time that the development in the Cellebrite software means that "what had been impossible, is now a reality".

In light of the new evidence, Mr Bowman said he needed to engage with his client "immediately".

Following those engagements, Mooney was arraigned before the court on what had originally been the date his trial was due to begin.

Mooney replied "guilty" to the single charge that he murdered Ms Mooney at the family home.

He faces the mandatory life sentence for murder but Mr Justice Paul McDermott adjourned sentencing to accommodate members of the victim's family who may wish to make statements to the court.

Mooney remains in custody and the matter will be mentioned on 18 June when a sentencing date will be set.