A chilling final message was left by a 17-year-old who was abducted and brutally dismembered before his tragic gangland murder. The brutal killing of Keane Mulready-Woods in 2020 shocked Ireland, with the teenager falling victim to a drug feud in Drogheda. On January 12, he was enticed to a house where he endured severe torture and decapitation.
His body parts were discarded from a car onto a footpath in Moatview, and later, his head, hands, and feet were discovered in a burnt-out vehicle in Dublin. Keane’s tragic death triggered a series of retaliatory acts, culminating in the fatal shooting of the main suspect, Robbie Lawlor, while he was collecting a drug debt. Before disappearing, Keane phoned his mother, informing her he would return home late and requesting taxi fare to be left out.
Engaged as a drug runner for a local gang, Keane was instructed to return home before nightfall and diligently followed the rules. At the time of his demise, he was on parole after being convicted of intimidating a local mother over her child’s drug debts to the gang.
Lawlor allegedly targeted Keane due to suspicions of his involvement in the killing of Lawlor’s brother-in-law, Richie Carberry, in November 2019. Despite initially planning a mere “punishment beating” over a minor drug debt, Lawlor purportedly escalated to torturing Keane.
An informant revealed that Lawlor was fixated on Mulready-Woods, convinced of his role in Carberry’s death, leading him to gruesomely dismember the teenager and boast about it to his rivals. The 36-year-old criminal had a history of numerous murders and a long list of criminal convictions before his own demise.
In a tragic turn of events, Lawlor was acquitted of attempted murder prior to being gunned down. Shortly after his court victory, he was assaulted by an individual associated with one of his alleged murder victims, leading to an escalation of hostilities.
Following Keane’s death, which Lawlor believed was connected to an attack on him, several individuals were sentenced for their roles in the murder. Paul Crosby received a 10-year prison term, Gerard “Rocky” Cruise was imprisoned for seven years, and Gerard ‘Ged’ McKenna confessed to disposing of evidence from the crime scene.
The victim’s mother, Elizabeth, expressed her profound grief in a heart-wrenching statement, highlighting the unimaginable darkness and cruelty that engulfed their lives after losing Keane in such a barbaric manner. She shared the lasting pain of hearing his final calls and the eternal nightmares haunting their family, emphasizing the irreplaceable loss and her inability to shield her child from harm.