Dublin man admits murdering his wife after video of the killing is found on his phone

Gardai hacked into the 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.

When arraigned this Monday, Stephen Mooney pleaded guilty to murdering his wife, Anna Mooney (46), at their home on Kilbarrack Road, Kilbarrack, Dublin 5 on June 15, 2023. Ms Mooney, a Ukrainian mother of two, died having suffered stab wounds in the kitchen of the home they shared.

The 52-year-old had been due to stand trial for murder but on February 7 last, prosecution senior counsel Desmond Dockery told the court of a "significant development" in the case.

Gardai, 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 gardai use to analyse mobile phones has recently undergone an update that allows phones to be unlocked without a password. When gardai 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."

Michael Bowman SC, for Mooney, 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". 

READ ALSO: BMW driver clocked by gardaí doing over twice the speed limit 'should be getting jail'

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

Wearing a blue suit, blue shirt and tie, Mooney replied "guilty" to the single charge that he murdered Anna Mooney at the family home in Kilbarrack on June 15, 2023.

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 June 18 when a sentencing date will be set.