Runaway man admits to murdering wife

An Irish computer analyst who fled to Spain in the wake of his wife’s death today pleaded guilty to her murder.

Colin Whelan, aged 33, from Clonard Street, Balbriggan, Dublin, was extradited back to Ireland last year after an Irish tourist spotted him working as a bartender in Majorca.

He had disappeared in March, 2003, and his car and personal belongings were found abandoned near the sea in Howth.

At the Central Criminal Court in Dublin today, Whelan pleaded guilty to the murder of his 27-year-old wife Mary at their home in Balbriggan between February 28 and March 01, 2001.

Dressed in a dark suit, Whelan spoke just once to confirm his identity.

Judge Paul Carney remanded him in custody and ordered him to appear in court for sentencing at 11am tomorrow.

Post-mortem tests on the body of Mary Whelan revealed she had been strangled. Whelan disappeared before a scheduled court appearance in October, 2003, to face the charge of murdering his wife. The couple had been married for just six months.

Despite Whelan’s attempt to fake his own death, gardaí began a nationwide search for him following his disappearance and never ruled out the possibility that he was still alive.