Driver Who Dragged Cyclist Over a Mile Jailed for Murder
Simon Richardson must serve at least 25 years for killing Michael Mullins, a headteacher he struck on his bike and dragged for more than a mile under his car near Manchester.
A man who drove for more than a mile with a cyclist trapped beneath his car has been given a life sentence. A Manchester court heard that the victim was a school headteacher riding home after work.
Sentence handed down on Monday
Simon Richardson, 35, was convicted of murder by a jury last week. Mrs Justice Brunner KC told him he must serve a minimum of 25 years.
She said he had shown an "astonishing degree of disregard for human life". In her words, he chose to escape the scene of an accident over the life of a helpless man.
The collision in Warburton
Michael Mullins, 56, was cycling home from Stretford grammar school, where he was head, when Richardson's Volvo XC90 hit him. Richardson had ignored give-way signs at a junction in Warburton, in Trafford, Greater Manchester. Mullins struck the bonnet and windscreen, then went under the car and became tangled in the suspension.
The trial at Manchester Minshull Street crown court heard that Richardson kept driving for more than a mile. He pulled onto a secluded farm track in Lymm, 1.3 miles from the collision, in an attempt to dislodge Mullins. Jurors were told he twice tried to pull the cyclist out, then drove sharply from side to side and over a grass verge. Mullins came free, and Richardson then reversed over him and left.
A motorcyclist followed a trail of blood and found Mullins alone and barely breathing. Emergency services could not save him. He died of multiple injuries.
The question of what Richardson knew
Richardson, who has no fixed address, denied knowing that anyone was under the vehicle. Prosecutor Phil Barnes KC told the court that he knew, and knew what driving on would do.
His cousin Gabrielle Debotte, who sat in the front passenger seat, gave evidence for the prosecution. She said both of them heard "moaning" from outside as he left the scene, and that he then said Mullins was under the car.
A record of driving offences
The court heard that Richardson had previous convictions for 28 offences. The list begins in 2011 with careless driving and an accident he neither stopped at nor reported. In 2012 came drink-driving and driving while disqualified, and in 2013 driving while disqualified and uninsured. In 2023 he was convicted again, this time for having no licence and no insurance.
Family and school
Mullins, a father of two from Northwich, Cheshire, was described by his family as their anchor. His wife, Sarah, told the court her life had been "brutally and callously torn apart" and spoke of feeling adrift. Members of the family were in tears when the verdict came in.
Elizabeth Baxter, the school's acting head, said Mullins led the school for 17 years and has left a void at every level. Det Ch Insp Louise Edwards of Greater Manchester police said Richardson took a life in one of the most horrific ways she had seen, and urged people to remember Mullins instead of the offender.
Our View
The case turned on one point: whether Richardson knew Mullins was beneath his car. The jury's murder verdict means it accepted that he did, and the judge's remarks suggest she saw the drive on as a series of deliberate choices.
Source: The Guardian