The man who cleaned up the “house of horrors” where teenager Keane Mulready-Woods was butchered walked free from prison yesterday.
Gerard “Ged” McKenna strolled out the gates of Mountjoy at 11.23am, giving the middle finger to our photographer.
Carrying two black holdall bags, 52-year-old McKenna, wearing a black tracksuit, black runners and a black padded jacket, got into a taxi along with another man.
Read more: Man who cleaned home where Keane Mulready-Woods was murdered set to be released
The father-of-eight was given four years for cleaning up and removing blood-stained evidence from his home in Rathmullen Park, Drogheda.
Keane, 17, was murdered and dismembered at the property by slain serial killer Robbie Lawlor in January 2020.
McKenna’s sentence was backdated to when he went into custody in May 2020 and he has now served his time, with a quarter off for good behaviour.
There are fears he may return to Drogheda but as his house has been taken back by Louth County Council, he is effectively homeless.
It is believed he may be housed in a different part of north Leinster with the help of a homeless charity. A source said last week: “McKenna has family in the town and it’s believed he wants to return there but whether some locals will allow him to live there is another thing.
“There’s still an awful lot of anger, hurt and shock over what happened to Keane and it has only been just over three years since the savage murder and dismembering of the teenager.
“McKenna isn’t well-liked after what he did cleaning up the scene.”
Shortly after he was sentenced in March 2022, abuse appeared on social media.
Several posts read “Smelly Rat” and “See you in four years”, leading to fears that tensions will rise if he shows his face around Drogheda.
If he does go back to the town, it is believed he could be run out of the place, as was Gerard “Rocky” Cruise when he returned while on bail for his role in the murder.
The 49-year-old was sentenced to seven years in February for facilitating Keane’s murder while his co-accused Paul Crosby, 27, received 10 years for the same offence.
While on bail in January 2021 Cruise returned to Drogheda but had to flee for his own safety.
Crowds shouting abuse had gathered outside a house he was in and gardai moved in to remove him from the area.
Cruise remained in Dublin city while on bail awaiting sentence.
Keane’s shocking murder was linked to a violent feud between two crime gangs in the town which claimed four lives and saw over 100 violent incidents including shootings, assaults, petrol bombing of homes and a kidnapping.
Keane was last seen alive in Drogheda on January 12, 2020. The following day, some of his dismembered body parts were found in a holdall in the Moatview area of Coolock in Dublin.
Two days later, the teen’s head, hands and feet were discovered in a burning car not far away in Drumcondra.
Sentencing McKenna at the Central Criminal Court, Mr Justice Paul McDermott said while it was not suggested
he was present during the “shocking dismemberment of the boy”, he was aware something had occurred when he walked into his blood-stained house and was told to clean the property.
He added: “If people are minded to help serious criminals because they feel intimidated or threatened to do so, they can thrive.
“Turning a blind eye and indifference to assisting serious criminal gangs is the bedrock of their success.”
The court also heard that slain serial killer Robbie Lawlor, who had ordered McKenna to surrender his house, “was not easy to say no to”.
