Trail of blood more than a mile long led to dying headteacher who had been mowed down and dragged beneath car, murder trial hears

A trail of blood more than a mile in length led to a dying headteacher who was mowed down and dragged underneath a car, a murder trial has heard.

Michael Mullins, 56, was struck by a black Volvo XC90 as he cycled home from Stretford Grammar School in Manchester during the evening of April 20.

Simon Richardson, 35, is said to have driven at speed through give-way markers at a junction in Warburton, Altrincham, before ploughing into the headteacher.

Prosecutors allege that he knew Mr Mullins was beneath the wheels of his vehicle but deliberately continued on his journey, speeding up to 60mph and leaving a trail of blood behind. 

They accuse Richardson of murder because of his decision to not to stop the car and to carry on.

Mr Mullins, who had been the head of Stretford Grammar School for 17 years, suffered fatal injuries from being stuck underneath the wheels of the SUV, the court heard.

At one point he stopped and saw Mr Mullins was still alive – but after unsuccessfully trying to dislodge him he set off again, swerving and mounting a grass verge, the court heard.

Finally, after the headteacher was thrown clear, Richardson allegedly ran over him again before driving off, leaving him in the road.

Michael Mullins, 56, was killed as he cycled home from Grammar School in Manchesteron April 20

On Wednesday, jurors heard from a motorcyclist who discovered Mr Mullins lying on a grass verge in Lymm, Cheshire, around two kilometres from the crash in Paddock Lane.

Andrew Besant-Roberts arrived at the junction with Dunham Road and was told a cyclist may have been trapped under a car.

In a statement read to the court, he said: 'I very quickly noticed a strange trail on the road.

'I didn't know what it was initially, but I thought it was suspicious.

'As I followed the trail, it suddenly occurred to me that it was blood.

'As it went over a white line I could see it was red.'

The trail led to Mill Lane, a single carriageway in Lymm, and then on to Wet Gate Lane, a quiet country lane, the court heard.

Mr Besant-Roberts added: 'I noticed the trail started to weave from left to right.

This continued for a couple of hundred yards.

'Then I saw a cyclist on a grass verge who appeared to be in a position similar to the recovery position.

'He was laid on his side unconscious but I could see he was still breathing.'

He dialled 999 but said the cyclist 'began to deteriorate'.

He said: 'His breathing became worse and worse. It was irregular with long pauses and then it just stopped.'

Mr Besant-Roberts was instructed by a call handler to give chest compressions before a paramedic arrived shortly after.

Mr Mullins, from Northwich, Cheshire, was pronounced dead at the scene at 6.50pm, about 40 minutes after the collision.

Earlier, a motorist parked at the Green Dragon pub in Mill Lane said she noticed something underneath a vehicle travelling at speed.

In a witness statement, Katie Woodward said: 'My first thought was that it was a body but I thought this was ridiculous and surely a body can't be under the car.

'I convinced myself it must have been an animal.

'As the vehicle drove along the road I saw it was leaving a trail coming from the passenger side.'

She too decided to follow the 'thick, dark trail', the court was told, which stopped where Mr Mullins lay as he was being tended to by Mr Besant-Roberts.

Mr Mullins, pictured with his children as a younger man, was treated by paramedics but declared dead at the roadside 40 minutes after the collision, jurors were told

The trial also heard from witnesses who saw the Volvo in the moments before, during and after the crash. Terry Snowdon said his wife was driving towards Partington at the time of the crash,

'I said to my wife "oh s**t, he's hit him",' he said. 'There was a short sharp thud - metal on metal. 

'The cyclist left the ground momentarily, no more than three to four feet, before hitting the ground.'

Kirsten Biggs, who was driving her grey BMW towards the junction of Dunham Road and Warburton Lane, said she saw the Volvo travelling 'extremely fast'.

'It was absolutely tanking it... in excess of the speed limit, it kept edging out into the opposite lane in an attempt to overtake the vehicle in front,' she said in a statement.'I was four or five car lengths away It was bobbing and weaving in and out, and not travelling in straight lane.'

Dog walker Peter Connell was on Mill Lane when he said he heard a 'loud, dragging sound' coming from a passing black car.

He said: 'It was an unusual sound.

'Something flapping round like cardboard or a plastic sheet.

'I looked under the car and I saw something big and flapping round the front passenger wheel.

'I thought it was bizarre that the driver had not realised they had something under the car and didn't stop.'

The Crown says Richardson 'veered sharply and deliberately from side to side' in Wet Gate Lane before his car mounted the verge, and that he then drove over his victim at least once before he was finally dislodged.

Phil Barnes KC, prosecuting, previously told the jury that Mr Mullins was 'crushed to death' after being dragged more than a mile and a quarter.

He told jurors that 'for a significant proportion of that journey, Simon Richardson knew that Michael Mullins was there beneath his car - trapped and injured, but alive'.

'He knew what he was doing by driving off would kill Michael Mullins or cause him the gravest of injuries and yet he drove on anyway,' he added.

Richardson allegedly fled the scene of the crash at more than 60mph – twice the 30mph speed limit – after Mr Mullins' foot became trapped under the Volvo's front wheels.

Graphic CCTV footage played to the jury showed how the headteacher was allegedly 'dragged to his death'.

He allegedly stopped at one point and saw that Mr Mullins was 'still alive' under his car, making 'concerted efforts' to dislodge him by turning the steering wheel.

Richardson stopped for around 90 seconds in a quiet country road, at which point data from Mr Mullins' watch showed he was still alive.

This was not an attempt to help Mr Mullins but an effort to leave him at the side of the road 'to die if that's what it came to', Mr Barnes alleged.

When his efforts failed, Richardson got back in the driver's seat and drove off while Mr Mullins remained trapped underneath the Volvo.

Further CCTV footage showed the car veering from side to side and mounting a grass verge near a farm.

It was here, Mr Barnes said, that Mr Mullins was finally dislodged from beneath the Volvo, with the car driving over him 'at least' once.

Richardson allegedly then drove to a petrol station where his cousin, Gabrielle Debotte, who had been in the front seat throughout, could be seen with her head in her hands, the court heard.

After filling up he is said to have collected weight-loss medication from a clinic in the village before driving to Ms Debotte's house.

Afterwards, the jury heard Richardson swapped his Volvo for a silver van and allegedly attempted to 'concoct' a story to cover his tracks.

But Ms Debotte, who is due to appear as a prosecution witness, 'broke down' at the nursery where she worked the next day and went to police and told them what happened, the court heard.

Richardson was later arrested when police pursued the Ford Transit van he had acquired, allegedly driving 'dangerously' and at speed.

When interviewed, he declined to answer any questions put to him.

The defendant denies murder and an alternative count of manslaughter.

He has also pleaded not guilty to an allegation of dangerous driving on April 21 in a police pursuit before he was arrested.