A man who cleaned up the house where teenager Keane Mulready-Woods was butchered is under protection in jail after threats on his life.
Gerard “Ged” McKenna, 52, is beginning a four-year jail term at Mountjoy Prison for mopping up the bloodied scene and removing evidence.
The dad-of-eight, from Rathmullen Park in Drogheda, was convicted on Tuesday after pleading guilty to the clean-up, and to impeding the prosecution of others for the murder.
His jail term was backdated to when he went into custody 22 months ago – and he is now segregated from other prisoners following his conviction.
A source told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “This is for his own safety to make sure nobody is out to get him.
“It’s fair to say that he probably won’t be very well liked for the crime he committed.
“There’s a lot of anger over what happened to the teenager and how he was brutally murdered.
“It was a savage killing which truly shocked the nation.
“McKenna will not get to mix with other inmates for a while and staff will need to determine the threat level against him before releasing him back into the general population of the jail.”
The move came after abuse appeared on social media shortly after McKenna was sentenced, with posts reading “Smelly Rat” and “See You in Four Years”.
Keane Mulready-Woods’ dismembered body parts were found in a holdall in a housing estate in Coolock, North Dublin, after the grisly murder.
Two days later the 17-year-old’s head, hands and feet were discovered in a burning car not far away in Drumcondra.
Paul Crosby, 26, and Gerard Cruise, 47, both from Rathmullen Park in Drogheda, Co Louth, face trial for the murder of Keane next month.
Sentencing McKenna at the Central Criminal Court Mr Justice Paul McDermott said while it was not suggested that 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.”
