Teen tortured and hacked to death sent final harrowing message to his mum | World | News
Keane Mulready-Woods was just 17 when he died (Image: undefined)
A 17-year-old who was abducted and dismembered left a chilling final message for his mum before his death in a savage gangland murder.
The brutal slaying of Keane Mulready-Woods in 2020 sent shockwaves throughout Ireland. The teenager, caught up in a drug feud in the town of Drogheda, was lured to a house on 12 January where he was tortured and beheaded.
His limbs were thrown from a car in a sports bag onto a footpath in the town of Moatview. His head, hands and feet were later found in a burnt out car in Dublin.
Keane’s murder sparked a series of revenge attacks – culminating in the murder of prime suspect Robbie Lawlor, who was gunned down as he collected a drug debt.
Before he disappeared, Keane called his mum, telling her he’d be home late and asking her to leave money out for a taxi. Keane, who was recruited as a drugs runner for a local gang, was under a curfew to be home before dark and had been abiding by the rules, according to the Irish Independent.
Keane Mulready-Woods was then dismembered (Image: PA)
At the time of his death, he was on licence after being convicted of intimidating a local mum over the drug debts to the gang accumulated by her child.
Lawlor allegedly murdered Keane as he believed the teen was involved in the killing of his brother-in-law Richie Carberry at his house in November 2019.
Gardaí suspect Lawlor escalated to torturing the teenager, having initially claimed he would merely administer a “punishment beating” over a minor drug debt.
An insider told the Irish Sun: “Lawlor was obsessed with Mulready-Woods and was determined to take his life because he was convinced he played a major role in Carberry’s death.
Keane Mulready-Woods was tortured before his death (Image: undefined)
“He took his propensity for violence to another level when he dismembered the teenager’s remains and then taunted his enemies about it.”
The 36-year-old was connected to several murders and had hundreds of criminal convictions before he was shot dead. In December, he walked free from court after being cleared of attempting to murder the mother of his ex-girlfriend’s new partner.
Just weeks after being cleared of attempted murder and walking free from court, he was attacked outside a gym by a man associated with one of his alleged murder victims. Lawlor’s gym bag was stolen and his rivals posted photographs of themselves wearing his flip-flops.
It is widely believed that Keane was present during the attack – and an enraged Lawlor reportedly sought revenge. One of the pictures shared after Keane’s death included the chilling caption: “Won’t be robbing a man’s flip-flops again.”
In February 2023, local criminal Paul Crosby was jailed for 10 years for his role in facilitating the murder of Keane, whilst his co-accused Gerard “Rocky” Cruise was handed a seven-year sentence.
A third individual, Gerard ‘Ged’ McKenna, admitted to cleaning up and disposing of evidence from the location.
In a heartbreaking victim impact statement delivered on behalf of Keane’s grieving mother Elizabeth, she said: “No one could imagine the darkness and sadistic evil in our country I can hear him calling ‘Mam, Mam’ – and the haunting nightmares live forever with us. To lose my child, my son, my baby in a most inhumane, barbaric death is shocking,” she stated, noting that a part of her perished as well. “I couldn’t protect him.”
