Court shown moment ‘murderer’ overtakes ‘before hitting headteacher’

By CAITLIN LENG 23:48 19 Oct 2026, updated 23:54 19 Oct 2026

This is the moment an alleged murderer was caught overtaking a car ‘before hitting a headteacher and dragging him under his vehicle for over a mile.’

Simon Richardson is accused of striking 56-year-old Michael Mullins as he pedalled home from work as a headteacher at Stretford Grammar School on April 20.

Prosecutors at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court allege Mr Richardson did not stop his car but ‘put his foot down’, dragging Mr Mullins along the road for 1.3miles before leaving him to die on a grass verge.

Witnesses described seeing Mr Richardson’s black Volvo XC90 ‘absolutely tanking it’ toward the junction of Dunham Road and Warburton Lane in Warburton, Trafford.

Mr Richardson, who is currently on trial, denies charges of murder and alternate charges of manslaughter and dangerous driving.

On Monday, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) released a 17-second clip of the incident – previously shown to the jury – of Mr Richardson’s Volvo overtaking another vehicle on Dunham Road.

Dashcam footage taken from the car driving behind Mr Richardson appears to show him behind two other vehicles before moving into the opposite lane and driving past.

The CPS also shared an image of Mr Richardson’s Volvo – with him sat in the driver’s seat – allegedly taken moments after the collision by an ANPR camera.

In the picture, there appears to be a dent to the front right area of the car bonnet, and Mr Richardson’s driver’s window appears to be fully down.

The court heard evidence on day five of the trial from Dr Terrence McGloughlin, a consultant in emergency medicine. He was asked by prosecutor, Phil Barnes KC, if it was his opinion that Mr Mullins survived the initial impact by the car.

Dr McGloughlin said: ‘My understanding from the evidence is that he survived the initial impact.’

Asked whether Mr Mullins was unconscious throughout the ‘dragging’, Dr McGloughlin replied: ‘On the evidence provided I am unable to say whether he was conscious or not.’

He was then questioned on what his opinion is on the cause of the traumatic cardiac arrest, to which he said a combination of factors including multiple traumatic injuries, respiratory failure and traumatic cardiac arrest.

Dr McGloughlin added blood loss can cause hypovolemic shock, which brings the heart rate down due to lack of blood volume. He said this affects the circulatory system and causes circulatory failure.

Dr McgLoughlin said evidence from the Apple Watch, worn by Mr Mullins, also showed the moment he was released from the car as the watch continued to record his heart. ‘It supports that he was still physiologically alive,’ he said.

But Jaime Hamilton KC, acting for Mr Richardson, questioned the doctor on the accuracy of the Apple Watch data.

He enquired if data from the Apple Watch which indicated there was some movement within the body after 6.50pm – after the point Mr Mullins had been pronounced dead – could be due to movement of Mr Mullins wrist, to which the doctor agreed.

He accepted there was no heart rate at this stage. ‘So that means the data cannot be accurate, can’t it?’ Mr Hamilton asked. ‘I am not an expert in this area,’ Dr McGloughlin replied.

Mr Hamilton added after 6.50pm there were 202 readings of a heart rate. ‘It is my understanding that this was because the watch had been removed after 6.50pm,’ Dr McGloughlin said.

Jurors also heard evidence from Dr Chaz Dixon, an expert in navigation and GPS technology. He told the court how GPS is used to track a journey, connecting to satellites and/or phone masts.

Of Gabrielle Debotte’s phone – who was said to be a passenger in the Volvo at the time – he said it was in the vicinity of the Bulls Head pub before moving to Altrincham, going through the junction of Paddock Lane and Dunham Lane, before moving onto Wet Gate Lane in Lymm.

Looking at the journey the Apple Watch worn by Mr Mullins made, it showed he left Stretford Grammar School, went through Stretford, Urmston, Flixton, through Carrington, then on towards Lymm.

The court heard there was a gap of 28 seconds within the watch data. ‘The data has for some reason not been recorded,’ Dr Dixon said. ‘It’s very unusual to have a gap in the data of that nature. If I hadn’t known there was a collision I would struggle to know why that occurred.

‘Knowing that there was a collision, it seems very likely that this was as a direct result of the collision.’

He confirmed the data was consistent with both the phone and the watch being together at the junction with Dunham Road and Paddock Lane, briefly stopping at the junction with Mill Lane, then onto Wet Gate Lane, before the phone went east and they parted ways.

Mr Richardson, of no fixed address but formerly of Epsom Avenue in Sale, denies murder, an alternate offence of manslaughter and dangerous driving.

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