A 17-year-old boy, who was kidnapped and brutally dismembered, left a chilling final message for his mother before his tragic murder by a gang. The brutal killing of Keane Mulready-Woods in 2020 shook Ireland, shocking the nation. The teenager, entangled in a drug conflict in Drogheda, was tricked into going to a house on January 12 where he suffered severe torture and decapitation.
His body parts were discarded in a sports bag from a car onto a footpath in Moatview. Subsequently, his head, hands, and feet were discovered in a burned-out vehicle in Dublin.
Keane’s death triggered a series of retaliatory actions, leading to the elimination of the main suspect, Robbie Lawlor, who was shot dead while collecting a drug debt. Before disappearing, Keane phoned his mother, informing her of his late return and requesting taxi fare.
Keane, who had become involved as a drug courier for a local gang, was instructed to return home before nightfall and had been complying with the directives, as per reports from the Irish Independent.
At the time of his demise, he was on parole after being convicted of intimidating a local mother regarding her child’s drug debts to the gang.
It is believed that Lawlor targeted Keane due to suspicions that the teenager played a role in the killing of his brother-in-law Richie Carberry in November 2019.
Authorities suspect that Lawlor escalated from a planned “punishment beating” for a minor drug debt to torturing the young man.
An informant revealed to the Irish Sun: “Lawlor was fixated on Mulready-Woods and was resolute in ending his life, convinced of his involvement in Carberry’s demise. He escalated his violent tendencies by dismembering the teen’s body and mocking his adversaries about it.”
The ruthless 36-year-old had been linked to multiple homicides and had amassed numerous criminal convictions before his own demise.
In December, he was acquitted of attempting to murder the mother of his former girlfriend’s new partner.
Shortly after his acquittal, he was attacked outside a gym by an individual connected to one of his alleged victims, where his gym bag was stolen, and his rivals flaunted images wearing his flip-flops.
It is widely believed that Keane was present during the attack, prompting a vengeful response from Lawlor.
Among the pictures circulated post-Keane’s death was one with the message: “Won’t be robbing a man’s flip-flops again.”
In February 2023, local criminals Paul Crosby and Gerard “Rocky” Cruise were sentenced to 10 and 7 years in prison, respectively, for their roles in Keane’s murder. Another accomplice, Gerard ‘Ged’ McKenna, admitted to tampering with evidence from the crime scene.
In a poignant victim impact statement on behalf of Keane’s grieving mother Elizabeth, she expressed her profound sorrow, recalling the darkness and cruelty in the country. She recounted the haunting memory of her son calling out to her and the everlasting nightmares she endures, lamenting the inhumane and barbaric nature of his death, stating that a part of her died alongside him, saying, “I couldn’t protect him.”
