Clondalkin man charged with hotel murder of Sonia Blount
A 31-year-old man has appeared in court in Dublin charged with the murder of Sonia Blount at a hotel in Tallaght two days ago.
Eric Locke of St John's Park East, Clondalkin is accused of killing the young mother at hotel room number 346 at the Plaza Hotel.
The garda van carrying the accused to court was heckled by a group of men as it pulled up outside Tallaght District Court this morning.
Several photographers and cameramen gathered nearby to try to photograph him.
At around 3.30pm on Sunday, Ms Blount's body was found by cleaning staff on the floor of room number 346 at the Plaza hotel in Tallaght.
Gardaí initially treated her death as suspicious, but the investigation was upgraded to a murder inquiry following a post mortem yesterday.
Mr. Locke was the first to be called before Judge Anthony Halpin this morning. He was flanked by two officers throughout his brief court appearance.
Judge Halpin told the 31-year-old he was facing a most serious offence and would have to go to the High Court if he wished to apply for bail.
He then remanded the accused in custody to appear before Cloverhill District Court this day week.
