Mother tells court of 'cruelty and inhumanity' over murder of Keane Mulready-Woods

Elizabeth Mulready said knowing that parts of her son were left in different places around the country was a 'constant and unbearable torment'

Keane Mulready-Woods: Remains were found in a burning car in a laneway in the Drumcondra area. File picture: Garda/PA

The mother of Keane Mulready-Woods, whose dismembered body parts were scattered across two counties by a criminal gang, has told a court that the “cruelty and inhumanity” of his murder is something no parent should ever have to face.

Elizabeth Mulready said nothing could ever prepare a parent for losing a child, but the way her 17-year-old son had been taken and what was done to him after his death had left a level of trauma that she will carry for the rest of her life.

Her statement was read out by prosecuting counsel at a sentencing hearing for Stephen Carberry, aged 48, who admits transporting and disposing of the teenager’s body parts while on bail for serious drug offences. Ms Mulready asked the three-judge court to consider the “lifelong impact” the offence has had on her and her family when deciding on a sentence.

Ms Mulready said instead of being allowed dignity in death, her son’s body was “cut up, scattered, and treated as if he was nothing”.

She added: “As if he was not someone’s son. As if he did not matter. The cruelty and inhumanity of disposing of my child’s body in pieces is something no parent should ever have to face.” 

The Special Criminal Court heard on Monday that Carberry, a father of six, collected two sports bags containing the teenager’s body parts from a house in Rathmullan Park in Drogheda before dumping one of these at a location in Moatview in North Dublin.

Carberry, who has 77 previous convictions, was on bail for possessing drugs worth in excess €13,000 for the purpose of sale or supply at the time. He is currently serving an eight-year sentence in relation to this offence, the court heard.

In her statement, Ms Mulready said knowing that parts of her son were left in different places around the country was a “constant and unbearable torment”.

Ms Mulready said not a day goes by that she isn’t “haunted” by images and thoughts of what was done to Keane.

“I relive it when I wake up, and it follows me when I try to sleep,” she said. “This is not grief that fades with time. It is trauma that lives inside me.” 

She said her family has been “destroyed” by what happened and Keane’s siblings lost their brother “in the most brutal way imaginable”.

What hurts even more was that after her son was killed, “choices were made”, to further “disrespect him and to further harm us”, Ms Mulready added.

She said Keane deserved “dignity” and “respect” and deserved to be treated like “a human being, not as something to be discarded”.

“I speak today for my son because he no longer has a voice,” Ms Mulready said, asking the court to consider the “lifelong impact” this has had on her and her family and the “unimaginable cruelty” of what was done when deciding on a sentence.

Addressing Ms Mulready after the statement was delivered, Ms Justice Karen O’Connor, presiding at the Special Criminal Court today, said the panel could not imagine the depth of her pain but understood that this is something which will live with her for every day of her life.

She said Ms Mulready had referred to her son’s dignity being denied, however the judge said Keane’s mother had demonstrated “great dignity today on behalf of your son and the way in which you have given him a voice”.

Father's victim impact statement

In his victim impact statement, which was also read to the court today, Keane’s father, Barry Woods, questioned why “fully grown men with families of their own” would “take a 17-year-old boy” and dump his body parts as they did.

“We had to have his funeral with only half his body parts in his coffin. Horrible,” he said.

Mr Woods said he was still “haunted” by this “savage murder” and still has nightmares about what happened. 

Remains found in burning car

Keane Mulready-Woods was last seen alive in Drogheda on January 12, 2020. The following day some of the teenager's body parts were found in a sports bag in the Moatview area of Coolock in Dublin. Two days later, remains were found in a burning car in a laneway in the Drumcondra area.

His torso was discovered on March 11, 2020, hidden in an overgrown ravine during a search of waste-ground at Rathmullan Park.

At the Special Criminal Court on Monday, Detective Sergeant Enda O’Sullivan confirmed to Tony McGillicuddy, prosecuting, that the “chief suspect” for the murder was Robbie Lawlor, a “criminal of significant notoriety” who had been linked to several murders.

Lawlor was shot dead in Belfast in April 2020.

He agreed that at the time of the killing, Lawlor was known to be heavily involved in a feud involving criminals in the Drogheda area among others.

Det Sgt O’Sullivan confirmed to Michael Bowman, defending, that there was no evidence Carberry had any “hand or part” in the teenager’s murder.

Mr Bowman said Carberry had pleaded guilty in a timely manner and had taken responsibility for taking part in “a grotesque act”. He said Carberry had had a difficulty with cocaine for a number of years and had developed severe depression following his brother’s murder.

Counsel asked the court to take into account the totality principle when considering what sentence to impose.

Ms Justice O’Connor adjourned the case to Monday, March 9, for sentencing.