Driver who dragged cyclist under his car jailed for life for murder
In England, 35-year-old Simon Richardson has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years for murdering headteacher Michael Mullins. He hit the cyclist with an SUV and kept driving for over a mile, knowing the victim was trapped beneath.
A court in Manchester, England, on Monday sentenced 35-year-old Simon Richardson to life imprisonment for murder, with a minimum of 25 years to serve. A jury found him guilty last week of killing Michael Mullins, 56, headteacher of Stretford grammar school in Greater Manchester. Mullins was cycling home from school when Richardson hit him with his car and then dragged him, trapped underneath, for more than a mile.
The collision
The crash happened on the evening of 20 April in the village of Warburton, in Trafford. The trial at Manchester Minshull Street crown court heard that Richardson, driving a Volvo XC90, ignored give-way signs at a junction and struck Mullins. The cyclist hit the bonnet and windscreen before going under the vehicle, where he became entangled in the suspension.
Richardson kept driving to a secluded farm track in Lymm, 1.3 miles away. The court heard he tried to dislodge Mullins: he twice attempted to pull him out, then drove sharply from side to side and mounted a grass verge. Mullins was released but was driven over again as Richardson reversed and left. A motorcyclist followed a trail of blood and found Mullins barely breathing on the verge. Emergency services could not save him, and he died from multiple injuries.
Richardson denied knowing Mullins was under the car. Prosecutor Phil Barnes KC said he knew and understood the consequences. Richardson's cousin Gabrielle Debotte, a front-seat passenger, told the trial that both had heard moaning and that Richardson then said: "He's under the car."
Sentence and reaction
Mrs Justice Brunner KC said the defendant had shown an "astonishing degree of disregard for human life" and had decided that escaping the scene mattered more than a human life.
Mullins's wife, Sarah, said her life had been "brutally and callously torn apart"; the family described him as their "anchor". Acting head Elizabeth Baxter said Mullins had led the school for 17 years.
The prosecution said Richardson had 28 previous convictions, including drink-driving, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance. Det Ch Insp Louise Edwards of Greater Manchester police urged people to remember Mullins rather than the offender.
