A man who cleaned and removed bloodstained evidence from a house in Drogheda where a 17-year-old boy was murdered two years ago has been jailed for four years.
The dismembered remains of Keane Mulready-Woods were subsequently found in different locations in Dublin and Drogheda after his family reported him missing in January 2020.
Gerard McKenna with an address at Rathmullen Park in Drogheda, told gardaí he had "no inkling" what was going to happen at his home and could not for fear of reprisals tell them who had been involved.
At the Central Criminal Court this morning, Mr Justice Paul Mc Dermott said that turning a blind eye and assisting criminal gangs is the essential bedrock of their success and that this kind of assistance must be discouraged.
He sentenced the father of eight to five years and three months in prison with the final 15 months suspended.
Keane Mulready-Woods was on bail and subject to a curfew when his mother reported him missing to gardaí on 13 January 2020.
He had not come home the night before.
Keane had taken a taxi to the Rathmullen Estate in Drogheda, which a 'Mr A' paid for when he got out.
He then got into 'Mr B's' blue Volkswagen Jetta and was the victim of a "particularly gruesome" murder.
The child's remains were subsequently found in a sports bag on a green area in Moatview in Coolock, in a burned out car in Clonliffe Road in Drumcondra and at a location in Rathmullen Park in Drogheda.
The cause of his death has not been ascertained.
Gardaí acting on confidential information subsequently searched McKenna's house, arriving to "a strong smell of paint" and "part of the floor" replaced.
Forensics identified stains and splashes of Keane's blood throughout the house, along the ceiling and walls, under the front window, on the leg of the TV table, the Sky box and at the fireplace.
There were blood spatters on part of the couch in the back yard, and the other part of the L-shaped couch had been carried 70 metres to a green area where it had been set on fire.
Keane Mulready-Woods' blood stained ballistic vest was also discovered at the burn site, along with rubber gloves, a box of Swiss army knives and clothing, all of which the court heard were bloodstained.
A car parked in a nearby laneway had "other items" with Keane's blood in the boot, including a blood stained axe and a bone fragment. The keys to that car, a red Toyota Corolla, were found in McKenna's home.
McKenna had met a number of men in a cafe in West Street in Drogheda on 12 January 2020.
He told gardaí he was told to stay away from his house
He claimed he carried out his instructions under duress and stayed in a friend’s house that night.
He brought a packet of pink pills with him and others there told gardaí he was "talking funny" and said, "I could have been down there, cut up."
He also said that he had nowhere to go, they "wouldn't let him into the bungalow."
When he returned, McKenna said he was told to clean the house even though it had already been cleaned.
He bought a pot of paint and took another pot and three pallets of wooden flooring from his friend's home.
"We were told to burn the bags, I didn't know what was in them."
He also said, "I didn't know the child had a vest," referring to Keane's bullet proof vest, which had also been found
Detective Sergeant Peter Cooney said that when he was arrested, McKenna took an overdose of prescription drugs in the garda station and spent three days in hospital.
The 52-year-old has 14 previous convictions, including for drug dealing, burglary and theft.
The detective agreed with his defence counsel Michael O'Higgins that McKenna was not part of the organised crime group that lured Keane Mulready-Woods to his house, and that while he knew "something bad" was going to happen there, he did not know what and he was not in the house at the time it happened.
He also agreed that the person who gave McKenna the orders was "a person of very specific notoriety, with a number of murders attributed to him, including that of a close friend."
"He was not easy to say no to and when they tell you to do something you do it," his defence counsel said. This person has since died.
The court also heard McKenna was "off his head" when involved in the clean up, expressed great remorse and was very ashamed of what he had done.
Mr Justice Mc Dermott said its clear there is nothing he could do to alleviate the terrible anguish suffered by the family of Keane Mulready-Woods.
The judge also said that while McKenna expressed shame and knew the victim and his family, he did not appear to care what the killers did in his home, he just did not expect it to be murder.
"Turning a blind eye and assisting criminal gangs is the essential bedrock of their success", the judge said, "and that this kind of assistance must be discouraged."
It is clear, he said, that Mc Kenna knew what he was doing was terrible and wrong and became aware of the murder when he walked into house and was instructed to clean the property.
