Drogheda criminal Crosby gets 10 years for role in 'inhuman' Mulready-Woods murder

Paul Crosby of Drogheda received a ten-year custodial sentence at the Special Criminal Court on 10 February 2023, with the final six months suspended for two years, following his guilty plea to facilitating the murder of seventeen-year-old Keane Mulready-Woods in January 2020. Gerard Cruise, with addresses in Drogheda and Dublin, was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years with the final six months suspended on the same charge. Both men pleaded guilty to participating in activities of a criminal organisation with intent to facilitate the killing, contrary to Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006. The teenager was last seen alive in Drogheda on 12 January 2020. His remains were subsequently discovered at multiple locations in Dublin and County Louth over the following months, with portions recovered from Rathmullan Park. Mr Justice Tony Hunt found Crosby held greater involvement in the criminal organisation than Cruise. Evidence established that Crosby had arranged to meet the victim and travelled with Cruise to Rathmullan Park, where the killing occurred. The judge characterised the treatment of the teenager's remains as "disgraceful and inhuman". Crosby had initially been scheduled for trial on a murder charge before entering his guilty plea in December 2022. Cruise similarly pleaded guilty in January 2023. The court heard that Robert Lawlor, identified as the chief suspect in the killing, was subsequently shot dead in Belfast. The victim's mother delivered a detailed impact statement to the court during proceedings. The case has since expanded beyond the initial sentencing, with other individuals charged in connection with the disposal of the teenager's body parts and the removal of evidence from the murder scene. The Special Criminal Court has continued hearing related matters arising from the investigation.