Courts / Dublin / Report

Jury hears mother and son describe armed kidnap ordeal

Date
2018-02-01
Stage
Sentence
Primary locality
Dublin
County
Dublin

Summary

In a 2018 trial, a mother and her two teenage sons recounted being kidnapped near the Wicklow Mountains during a €2.28 million robbery that occurred almost 15 years earlier. Marie Richardson described how she and her sons were bundled into a jeep, taken to a secluded area, kept for hours, and bound with cable ties before being released. She recalled her husband, Paul Richardson, a cash‑in‑transit driver, being forced to deliver the money at a Dublin pub car park. The defendants—Mark Farrelly, Christopher Corcoran, David Byrne and Niall Byrne—pleaded not guilty to false imprisonment and robbery. The jury heard the kidnapping, the captors' orders, and the family's eventual escape, with the trial continuing before Judge Melanie Greally and an enlarged jury.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Jury hears mother and son describe armed kidnap ordeal. Charges or matters: the false imprisonment of four members of the Richardson family at their home at Ashcroft, Raheny, Dublin, on March 13 and 14, 2005; robbing Paul Richardson and Securicor of €2.28m on March 14, 2005. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

Case subjects

Christopher Corcoran

Defendant

Charges: the false imprisonment of four members of the Richardson family at their home at Ashcroft, Raheny, Dublin, on March 13 and 14, 2005; robbing Paul Richardson and Securicor of €2.28m on March 14, 2005 (Alleged Or Contested)

Plea: Not guilty

David Byrne

Defendant

Charges: robbing Paul Richardson and Securicor of €2.28m on March 14, 2005 (Alleged Or Contested)

Plea: Not guilty

Mark Farrelly

Defendant

Charges: the false imprisonment of four members of the Richardson family at their home at Ashcroft, Raheny, Dublin, on March 13 and 14, 2005; robbing Paul Richardson and Securicor of €2.28m on March 14, 2005 (Alleged Or Contested)

Plea: Not guilty

Niall Byrne

Defendant

Charges: robbing Paul Richardson and Securicor of €2.28m on March 14, 2005 (Alleged Or Contested)

Plea: Not guilty

Places mentioned

Secondary Mention
Court Venue
  • Dublin
  • Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
Residence

Topics

Stage Sentence Theft

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