A 17-year-old teenager who was kidnapped and brutally dismembered left a haunting final message for his mother before his violent gang-related murder.
The brutal killing of Keane Mulready-Woods in 2020 shocked Ireland, leaving the nation in disbelief. The young man, entangled in a drug feud in Drogheda, was enticed to a residence on January 12, where he endured excruciating torture and decapitation.
His body parts were discarded from a vehicle in a sports bag on a sidewalk in Moatview. Subsequently, his head, hands, and feet were discovered in a burned car in Dublin.
Keane’s tragic death triggered a series of retaliatory assaults, culminating in the assassination of prime suspect Robbie Lawlor, who was shot dead while attempting to collect a drug debt. Prior to disappearing, Keane phoned his mother, informing her of his delayed return and requesting taxi fare.
Engaged as a drug courier for a local gang, Keane was instructed to return home before nightfall and dutifully adhered to the directives, as reported by the Irish Independent.
At the time of his demise, Keane was on probation after being convicted of intimidating a local mother regarding her child’s drug-related debts to the gang.
It is believed that Lawlor targeted Keane due to suspicions that the young man was involved in the murder of Lawlor’s brother-in-law, Richie Carberry, at his residence in November 2019.
Law enforcement suspects that Lawlor escalated from initially planning a “punishment beating” for a minor drug debt to torturing the adolescent.
An insider disclosed to the Irish Sun: “Lawlor fixated on Mulready-Woods and was resolute in ending his life, convinced of his significant role in Carberry’s demise. Lawlor’s violent tendencies escalated as he dismembered the teen’s body and taunted his adversaries.”
The ruthless 36-year-old had been linked to multiple homicides and amassed numerous criminal convictions before his demise.
In December, following acquittal on an attempted murder charge, Lawlor was released from court without charges for attempting to harm his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend’s mother.
Shortly after his acquittal, he was assaulted outside a gym by an associate of one of his purported murder victims. Lawlor’s gym bag was stolen, and his rivals flaunted images of themselves wearing his sandals.
It is widely assumed that Keane was present during the altercation, prompting an enraged Lawlor to allegedly plan retribution.
Among the images circulated after Keane’s death was a message stating, “Won’t be robbing a man’s flip-flops again.”
In February 2023, local criminal Paul Crosby was sentenced to 10 years for his involvement in Keane’s murder, while his accomplice Gerard “Rocky” Cruise received a seven-year prison term. A third individual, Gerard ‘Ged’ McKenna, confessed to cleaning up and disposing of evidence from the crime scene.
In a poignant victim impact statement read on behalf of Keane’s grieving mother Elizabeth, she expressed the profound anguish, stating, “No one could fathom the darkness and sadistic evil in our country. I can still hear him calling ‘Mam, Mam’ – and the haunting nightmares persist. Losing my child, my son, my baby, in such an inhumane, barbaric manner is devastating,” adding that a part of her soul perished as well. “I couldn’t shield him.”