Man found guilty of murdering head teacher in car incident

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 30 Oct, 12:23 · Archive

Simon Richardson has been found guilty of murdering head teacher Michael Mullins, who was hit by a car and dragged 2.2km while trapped underneath.

Simon Richardson, 35, has been found guilty of the murder of head teacher Michael Mullins, 56, who died after being struck by Richardson's Volvo on 20 April and dragged 2.2km while trapped underneath the vehicle. The jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict after around 10 hours and 55 minutes of deliberation on Wednesday.

Richardson had denied murder, manslaughter and dangerous driving. The prosecution argued that Richardson knew Mullins was trapped under his car when he continued driving away from the scene. This account was supported by testimony from Richardson's passenger, Gabrielle Debotte, who told the jury that Richardson said 'he's under the car' and that both could hear 'moaning' from beneath the vehicle.

Debotte said Richardson stopped on Wet Gate Lane and attempted to pull Mullins out from under the vehicle on two occasions but was unsuccessful. He then continued driving up the country lane, swerving and mounting a grass verge where he is believed to have run over Mullins. Richardson's defence claimed he did not know Mullins was under the car until after he was dislodged on the verge. Mullins was found minutes later by a motorcyclist who had followed a trail of his blood from the scene and was pronounced dead at 6.50pm.

How it is being reported

• Man found GUILTY of much-loved head teacher’s murder as jury gives verdictA man has been found guilty of the murder of a much-loved head teacher who died after being hit by a car and dragged 2.2km away while trapped underneath.Warrington Guardian · 30 Oct, 12:00
• Man found GUILTY of much-loved head teacher’s murder as jury gives verdictA man has been found guilty of the murder of a much-loved head teacher who died after being hit by a car and dragged 2.2km away while trapped underneath.Northwich Guardian · 30 Oct, 12:00

In this story: Simon Richardson · Michael Mullins · Gabrielle Debotte · Wet Gate Lane

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log