A 53-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife in Dublin two years ago after gardaí found footage of the incident on a mobile phone he had set up to spy on her.
Stephen Mooney, of Kilbarrack Road, had originally pleaded not guilty to the murder of 43-year-old Anna Mooney in the early hours of 15 June 2023. He was due to go on trial in March this year.
But he changed his plea to guilty after gardaí found video and audio footage of the murder and the aftermath, on a mobile phone Mooney had set up to record his wife, whom he suspected of having an affair.
Gardaí were able to access the footage when an update of the software used to analyse phones allowed the device to be unlocked without a password.
Mooney had stabbed his wife to death in the kitchen/living room of their home in Kilbarrack.
The footage showed him leaving the room at one point and returning with the knife used to kill her. The court heard it had a curved blade, 16cm in length.
Afterwards, Mooney dialled 999. When emergency services arrived he was leaning over his wife's body.
A knife was still lodged in her chest. He told a paramedic "I’ve killed her". He said he was "really sorry" and that it had been "going on for six years".
He claimed his wife had been having an affair and that he "saw something on her phone about sex and everything else and freaked out".
A short time later he told a garda his wife was having an affair, that it got out of control, that he "tried to save her" and that "everyone’s lives" were "ruined".
He also said there was no suspect, that he was the guilty one and that nothing was "worth this".
The couple’s two children, then aged around 17 and 11 were asleep upstairs when the murder took place.
A post mortem examination showed Ms Mooney had been stabbed a number of times and her death was due to multiple sharp force injuries.
Detective Sergeant, Basil Grimes told the court a clip lasting one hour and thirty minutes was found on Mooney’s mobile phone when they were able to access it.
It included audio of the murder, Sergeant Grimes said as well as the events leading up to it and the moments afterwards.
He said Mooney was recorded leaving the room and returning with the murder weapon.
He said the phone was in an elevated position looking down at the room.
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Asked by prosecuting counsel, Desmond Dockery why the phone had been in that position in the first place, Sergeant Grimes said it was gardaí’s belief that efforts had been made to record Ms Mooney using her phone.
He said Mooney was trying to record her putting her PIN number in so he could establish who she was in contact with.
The court heard the garda investigation confirmed Ms Mooney was having a relationship with a man in Germany.
No victim impact evidence was presented to the court, although Ms Mooney’s brother, Anton Shuplikova, listened to the proceedings on a link from Ukraine, where she was originally from.
Mooney got into the witness box at the end of the sentence hearing and told the court that he wanted to apologise publicly to his wife’s family and to their children.
He said it was a burden he went to bed with every night and woke up with every morning. He said he had caused terrible suffering and hoped one day everybody would be able to forgive him.
The court heard Mooney had no previous convictions and had no psychological or psychiatric difficulties.
Mr Justice Paul McDermott imposed the mandatory sentence of life in prison on Mooney.
He said the murder was a devastating loss for Ms Mooney’s family and had caused huge damage and trauma. And he expressed his deepest sympathy to the family.
