Father-of-eight handed over house for 'gruesome' Kean Mulready Woods murder

Gerard McKenna, aged 52, of Rathmullen Park in Drogheda, County Louth, was sentenced to four years imprisonment at the Central Criminal Court on 28 February 2022 following his guilty plea in November to obstructing the apprehension or prosecution of persons guilty of murder. The offence related to his actions at his home between 12 and 14 January 2020, in the aftermath of the killing of 17-year-old Kean Mulready Woods. Mr Justice Paul McDermott imposed a headline sentence of seven years before applying mitigation, reducing the term to five years and three months with the final fifteen months suspended. The sentence was backdated to May 2020. The judge acknowledged that McKenna was not present during the murder itself but emphasised the gravity of disposing of material evidence. Following the teenager's death at the property, McKenna cleaned and repainted his house in an attempt to remove evidence. Despite these efforts, forensic examination revealed extensive blood-staining throughout the premises. Investigators recovered blood-stained items from the scene and a nearby burn site, including a ballistic vest, an axe, rubber gloves and part of a sofa, all bearing the victim's DNA. The Defence submitted that McKenna had surrendered his house under duress from an organised criminal group and possessed no prior knowledge of the murder. The prosecution countered that the cleaning efforts, though substantial, had proven insufficient to eliminate forensic traces. McKenna is a father of eight—seven children with his wife and one from a subsequent relationship. The case forms part of the broader investigation into Mulready Woods's death, which emerged as connected to criminal gang activity in the Drogheda area. The teenager disappeared on 12 January 2020, and his remains were subsequently discovered across multiple locations in Dublin and Donegal.