Courts / Louth / Report

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

Date
2026-01-19

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Drogheda

County
Louth

Summary

Stephen Carberry, 48, pleaded guilty at the Special Criminal Court to charges of assisting an offender and facilitating the murder of Keane Mulready-Woods. He admitted to transporting and disposing of the teenager's body parts between January 13 and 15, 2020, while on bail for drug offences. The court heard victim impact statements from Keane's parents, who described the "cruelty and inhumanity" of the disposal. Carberry, who has 77 previous convictions, was alleged to have collected two sports bags from Rathmullan Park, Drogheda, and dumped one in Moatview, Dublin. His co-accused, Gerard Cruise, 51, also pleaded guilty to facilitating the murder under Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006. In February 2023, co-accused Paul Crosby was sentenced to ten years for the same offence, while Cruise received seven-and-a-half years with the final six months suspended for two years. Ms Justice O'Connor adjourned Carberry's case to Monday, March 9, for sentencing, noting the panel could not imagine the depth of the family's pain.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Mother of Keane Mulready-Woods tells court of 'cruelty and inhumanity' of his murder. Charges or matters: a charge that, with knowledge of the existence of a criminal organisation, he facilitated the murder of Keane Mulready-Woods at Rathmullan Park, Drogheda, Co Louth, between the dates of January 11 and 13, 2020, contrary to Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006; the same charge. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

January 12th, 2020 Incident
March 11th, 2020 Hearing Or Sentence
April 2020 Other
January 13 Hearing Or Sentence
January 15 Incident
March 11 Other
January 12 Other
Monday, March 9 Adjournment
13 January 2020 Adjournment
15 January 2020 Adjournment
February 2023 Incident
January 11 Other
2026-01-19 Publication

Why: "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. CNI source report

Case subjects

Gerard Cruise

Co Accused

Charges: a charge that, with knowledge of the existence of a criminal organisation, he facilitated the murder of Keane Mulready-Woods at Rathmullan Park, Drogheda, Co Louth, between the dates of January 11 and 13, 2020, contrary to Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006; the same charge (Admitted)

Plea: Guilty