Driver jailed for life for murdering head teacher dragged beneath car

Simon Richardson has been jailed for life, with a minimum term of 25 years, for murdering head teacher Michael Mullins, whom he dragged beneath his car for more than a mile after hitting him as he cycled home in Greater Manchester.

At Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, Mrs Justice Brenner KC also imposed a lifetime driving ban. She said Richardson had deliberately used his car as a weapon and had shown “complete contempt” for the law.

The court heard that Richardson, 35, struck Mr Mullins, 56, in Warburton on 20 April. Mr Mullins, a married father of two, was cycling home from Stretford Grammar School, where he had been head teacher for 17 years.

Richardson drove on with Mr Mullins trapped beneath his vehicle. Prosecutors said he later stopped on a farm track in Lymm and twice tried to pull him free, then drove sharply from side to side and over a grass verge. After Mr Mullins was dislodged, Richardson reversed over him and drove away. A motorcyclist later found him barely breathing; he died from multiple injuries.

Richardson denied murder, saying he had not realised Mr Mullins was beneath the car. He was found guilty after a trial lasting more than two weeks. He was also convicted of dangerous driving in connection with a police pursuit the following day.

The judge said Richardson had a significant history of driving-related offences over 15 years, including previous convictions for drink-driving and careless driving. He was on bail for other offences, including affray and assault occasioning actual bodily harm, when he killed Mr Mullins.

Mr Mullins’s widow, Sarah, told the court that her husband had been her “safety net” and that she and her family were “completely adrift and bereft without our anchor”. Elizabeth Baxter, acting head teacher at Stretford Grammar School, described it as an honour and a privilege to have worked alongside him.