WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT Keane Mulready-Woods was caught up in a drug feud in the Irish town of Drogheda and suffered a brutal death at the hands of Robbie Lawlor
A depraved killer who tortured and dismembered a teenage boy in a gangland killing left a chilling message for the victim’s families and friends.
Keane Mulready-Woods was caught up in a drug feud in Drogheda, Ireland, and was lured to a house on January 12, 2020, where he was tortured and beheaded by suspected serial killer Robbie Lawlor. The brutal murder brought terror to the streets of the port town and marked a horrifying new low in its gang war.
His limbs were thrown from a car in a sports bag onto a footpath in the town of Moatview, and his head, hands and feet were then found in a burnt out car in Dublin days later. Keane’s killing sparked a series of revenge attacks and Lawlor was eventually gunned down in April 2020. The 36-year-old contract killer was tied to a string of high-profile murders and had hundreds of criminal convictions before he went into hiding after Keane’s killing – and a disturbing video posted on social media may have provided his motivation.
In December 2019, Lawlor walked free from court after being cleared of attempting to murder the mum of his ex-girlfriend’s new partner. Weeks later, he was assaulted outside a gym by a man connected to one of his alleged murder victims. One of them recorded the incident and repeatedly shouted “that’s only the start” of it after punching Lawlor in the face. Lawlor’s gym bag was stolen and his enemies later posted photos of themselves wearing his flip flops.
It is believed Keane was there on the day of the incident – and an enraged Lawlor may have sought revenge after the humiliation. After Keane’s death, horrifying images emerged on social media of severed limbs. One of them included the caption: “Won’t be robbing a man’s flip-flops again.”
Lawlor also believed Keane was involved in the murder of his brother-in-law Richie Carberry at his house in November 2019. Irish cops suspect Lawlor went on to torture the teen having previously said he would just give him a “punishment beating”. Lawlor was shot in the head at close range in the front garden of a house in Ardoyne, north Belfast, in broad daylight on April 4 in 2020. Cops believe he was set up to be murdered by rivals, or that the drug dealer killed him to protect himself.
Reporters after his death revealed the notorious hitman used to dress up as a woman so he could dodge the police, and would wander around north Dublin in a dress, make up and jewellery. A police source told the Irish Mirror: “Robbie Lawlor became the master of disguise on and off for years before he died. His family and friends used to joke about it that he liked nothing more than dressing up as a woman so he could move around Dublin without anyone recognising him.
“We only became aware of it very late on in his life when one of her guys spotted him all dolled up in a dress. We used to call him Roberta for the laugh but Lawlor, who had no sense of humour, didn’t see the funny side.” At the time of his death, Keane was on licence after being convicted of intimidating a local mum over the drug debts to the gang racked up by her child.
Following the brutal killing, mourners gathered at the Holy Family Church, Ballsgrove, to pay tribute. Father Phil Gaffney said: “There has to be great anger and even sadness, great fear and pain perhaps, at the thought that we live in a society where certain people took upon themselves to “play God” with regard to the life of Keane Mulready Woods. They took upon themselves to be judge and jury, and executioner. What arrogance. What appalling wickedness and evil.”
