A "cruel" killer who fatally stabbed a family man with young children after being confronted about his scary behaviour visited an Essex pub and shop whilst on the run. Tieran Carmody, 19, inflicted a single, fatal stab wound on Max Richardson, 35, near a park in Harlow last August.
He was convicted of murder after less than seven hours of deliberation by jurors after a four-week trial at Chelmsford Crown Court. Witness statements revealed Max had confronted Carmody near to his home and a children's play park in Joyners Field on the evening of August 21.
Carmody, from Harlow, was assisted in evading capture for six days by his friend Harrison Barnett. Both showed no emotion in the secure dock as their new convictions were read to them.
ALSO READ: Man stabbed in the chest in Basildon as police launch attempted murder investigation
READ MORE: Urgent search for missing elderly man last seen in Chigwell as police 'worried' for his welfare
Carmody had been loitering near properties and the park, making children feel uncomfortable and scared. Max, alongside neighbours, confronted him as he stood aside a bike smoking cannabis.
A scuffle ensued after Carmody lashed out at Max having been quizzed on why he was intimidating children. The killer retrieved a large knife from his bag and fatally stabbed Max, who was said to have his hands up in a surrendering motion.
Carmody fled the scene on his bike whilst emergency services rushed to assist Max, but sadly he was pronounced dead on his way to hospital. A manhunt was launched and Carmody was quickly identified as a key suspect.
CCTV caught the moments that Carmody and his friend Harrison Barnett, also 19, were at a pub in Benfleet and a shop in Pitsea in the days after Max's murder. Prosecutors said Barnett had been "quite willing to help with some effort".
Detectives found that Barnett had provided shelter to Carmody and given him access to his mobile phone to contact friends and family as well as conduct internet searches. On Barnett’s phone, officers found searches for police appeals and news articles covering the stabbing.
Further analysis highlighted the extent to which Carmody tried to evade capture with an internet search for how a person can leave the country without a passport.
Killer attacked Max because 'someone had dared to stand up to him'
DCI Ashley Howard said Max "had everything ahead of him" and was due to get married.
"He was killed for simply caring about the safety of his neighbourhood," they said. "He died because Carmody chose to carry a large knife with him, a knife Carmody stated he carried for safety, however it was this weapon he used to murder a stranger.
"Carmody murdered Max for no other reason than he felt affronted that someone had dared to stand up to him."
DCI Howard added: "There is never a good reason to carry a knife in public, particularly a knife of this horrifying nature, and no world in which it can be justified. Carmody has forever blighted the life of his victim’s family, but he has also ruined his own life. He can rightly expect to spend many years behind bars."
Barnett, of St Mary's Crescent in Basildon, was arrested and denied a charge of perverting the course of justice. He was convicted of this whilst Carmody, of Berecroft in Harlow, was found guilty of murder. They will be sentenced at a later date.
In a statement after his death, they said: "[He will] always be in the hearts of his family and his children who miss him dearly. Words cannot describe the pain we are all feeling right now. He will be solely remembered for the person that he was. Funny, caring and always there for his young children. Rest in peace now our beloved Max, always and forever in our thoughts and hearts."
