Manchester Crown Court – Simon Richardson, 35, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years for the murder of Michael Mullins, 56, a beloved headteacher and father-of-two who was cycling home from Stretford Grammar School in Trafford on the evening of 20 April.
Richardson drove through give-way markers at a junction in Altrincham and collided with Mullins, who landed on the bonnet and windscreen before becoming trapped in the vehicle's suspension. Rather than stop, Richardson dragged Mullins beneath his Volvo XC90 for more than a mile, the court heard. His cousin and passenger Gabrielle Debotte testified she heard moaning from outside the car and heard Richardson say 'he's under the car' as he drove away.
The prosecution said Richardson drove 1.3 miles to a secluded farm track on Wet Gate Lane in Lymm, where he twice attempted to pull Mullins out manually, failing both times. He then mounted a grass verge and reversed, running over Mullins again before fleeing the scene. A motorcyclist following a trail of blood discovered Mullins alone and barely breathing on the verge; he was pronounced dead at 6:50pm.
Throughout the two-week trial, Richardson denied knowing Mullins was under the vehicle. However, the jury convicted him of murder after deliberating for 10 hours and 55 minutes. The court also heard that Richardson had 28 previous convictions, including a significant history of driving offences such as careless driving, failing to stop or report an accident, drink driving, and driving while disqualified. He was on bail at the time of the offence for affray, ABH, and possession of cocaine.
Mrs Justice Brunner KC said Richardson had shown an 'astonishing degree of disregard for human life'. In sentencing, she stated: 'For every moment you carried on, you were knowingly using your heavy vehicle to cause serious injury to a man who was trapped, injured and completely helpless as a result of your actions. You did that because you decided escaping from the scene of an accident was more important than a human life.'
Richardson received a concurrent 18-month sentence for dangerous driving committed on 21 April. In a statement read to the court, Sarah Mullins, his wife of 27 years, described Michael as her 'safety net' and said: 'My past, present and future have been brutally and callously torn apart… I am, we are, completely adrift and bereft without our anchor, Michael Mullins.' Elizabeth Baxter, acting headteacher at Stretford Grammar School, said: 'He has left a void and a gulf at every level of our school.'
The case has been described as one of the most horrific examples of post-collision conduct in recent memory, with the judge noting the footage of Richardson swerving and mounting a grass verge to dislodge the victim was 'distressing to watch'.
