Sonia Blount: Murdered by her ex using a fake Facebook account
Check-In To MurderSonia Blount, a 31-year-old single mother from Dublin, hadn’t been lucky in love. She hoped that would change on 15th February 2014 when she agreed to meet Shane Cully at the Plaza Hotel in Tallaght.
The pair had been chatting on social media, and Sonia had verified Cully’s Facebook profile before agreeing to meet him. With dozens of friends, photos and comments on his page, the young woman didn’t think she had anything to worry about.
But all was not as it seemed, and the date would soon end in tragedy.
The case features in the new Crime+Investigation docuseries Check-In To Murder, so here we examine what happened that night.
A dangerous obsession
Family friends described Sonia as 'an innocent, beautiful, kind, caring person and a mother'. She was known for being friendly and reliable, especially at the glue factory where she had worked for almost a decade.
However, despite this, her love life had been difficult. She had a young son and after leaving a previous tricky relationship, she told her sister she was 'not going down that road again'.
Life was peaceful until she met Eric Locke, a colleague at the factory. After just a few dates, he became obsessive. Recognising the warning signs and concerned for her safety, Sonia ended the relationship and tried to move on.
However, Locke had other ideas. He sent hundreds of text messages pleading for a second chance and even threatened suicide if she didn’t reconcile with him. Worried about his welfare, Sonia alerted the gardaí, who detained him under the Mental Health Act.
Once discharged, Locke continued to aggressively pursue Sonia. He sent letters apologising for his behaviour, but she remained aloof. She explained that she didn’t want to rekindle the relationship and blocked his social media accounts and phone number.
The deadly deception
Sonia was relieved when she finally broke contact with Locke, but she was still lonely. Open-minded to dating, she started communicating with a man called Shane Cully on Facebook. He seemed trustworthy with dozens of friends, photos and comments on his profile.
After several conversations, she agreed to meet him at the Plaza Hotel in Tallaght on 15th February 2014, as a belated Valentine's Day date.
Speaking after the trial, Sonia's sister Claire described how out of character the decision had been:
‘We still just can’t believe that she did that. It’s not like her. It’s not like her. The only thing is around that time she was lonely. She’d gone through the breakup with her child’s father, and she had all the stuff with Eric, and it was near Valentine’s Day. The only thing I can think of is she was lonely. We still can’t understand why she would… it was so out of character.’
This was the last time anyone would see Sonia alive.
Hours later, after she failed to return home, her family began searching for her. As concern grew, rumours started to circulate that a body had been found at the Plaza Hotel. Fearing the worst, Sonia's family rushed to the hotel, where they were met by Gardaí and members of the press.
Their worst fears were confirmed. Sonia had been found dead in one of the hotel's rooms. She had been asphyxiated with her shirt forced into her mouth and had suffered severe injuries to her neck.
The investigation
It didn’t take long for investigators to determine what happened that night. Once they accessed Sonia’s social media accounts and phone records, they established that ‘Shane Cully’ had been operating from a fake profile.
Sonia had actually been speaking with Eric Locke, who had created the account a year earlier.
When questioned by psychiatrists, Locke insisted he never intended to kill Sonia, despite bringing a pellet gun, masking tape and cable ties to restrain her. He said he only wanted Sonia to listen to his pain, but panicked when she began screaming. He admitted to strangling her before placing a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the hotel room door and leaving.
During the trial, Locke pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, but the jury rejected the defence. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Following the sentencing, family friend Liz Gaffney issued a warning to social media users:
‘A special word of warning to everybody using social media sites. We urge you to please be cautious and be aware. It is so easy to set up false profiles. Sonia made an error of judgment and paid for this with her life.’
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