Eric Locke admits causing death as murder trial continues

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Eric Locke was on trial accused of murdering his former girlfriend, Sonia Blount, in a Dublin hotel room. He admitted causing her death but said he did not mean to kill her and would be pleading the defence of diminished responsibility.

The proceedings were reported on 11 May 2017. The court heard that Locke posed as another man on Facebook to message Blount and arrange a meeting at the Plaza Hotel in Tallaght. The messages arranged a meeting there on the night of 15 February 2014. Her body was found in a hotel room on 16 February.

The jury heard that on 9 February 2014 Locke asked his sister, Kim Locke, to ask a friend to hack Blount’s Facebook page and email. He told his sister that Blount was ripping him off behind his back and said he wanted to be able to stay away from her if it was true. His sister said the friend could do neither.

Locke denied a rumour that he was stalking Blount. The report said the case would continue; it gave no verdict or final outcome.