Harlow: Teenage killer convicted of murder

A teenage killer who stabbed a much-loved father and partner to death before fleeing justice has been convicted of murder following an extensive investigation.

Tieran Carmody, 19, inflicted a single stab wound on 35-year-old Max Richardson near Joyners Field, Harlow, on Monday 21 August last year.

Rather than hand himself in, he evaded our efforts to find him and went on the run.

An investigation led by officers within our Serious Crime Directorate traced the movements of Carmody in the hours and days following the murder.

This work led to his arrest less than a week later on Sunday 27 August, in Basildon.

Today, Friday 17 May, he was unanimously convicted of murder by a jury at Chelmsford Crown Court.

He is due to be sentenced at the same court on a date yet to be set. 

Initial response

Accounts taken from witnesses at the scene revealed Max had confronted Carmody near to his home and a children’s play park in Joyners Field on the evening of 21 August.

Carmody had been described as loitering near properties and the play park, making children in the area feel uncomfortable.

Max, alongside neighbours, confronted him as he stood astride a bicycle smoking cannabis.

They asked Carmody why he was scaring children, Carmody lashed out at Max and a scuffle followed.

Carmody pushed Max over a large branch which was lying on the ground nearby, causing him to fall to the floor.

After shoving Max away, Carmody was seen to walk back towards his bike.

He grabbed his rucksack, from which he drew a long, bladed weapon before withdrawing it from a sheath.

Returning to Max, who by this point held his hands up in a surrendering motion, Carmody stabbed his victim once through the stomach.

Witnesses described this assault as a calm and deliberate act.

He was seen to return the blade to its sheath and stow it back inside his rucksack, before fleeing the scene on his bicycle.

Our officers and paramedics arrived and provided immediate care to Max, but he was sadly pronounced dead while en-route to hospital.

Search for suspect

A manhunt was launched and images of Carmody, taken from doorbell and CCTV footage, were analysed and released to the public.

We were able to build a timeline of his movements, establishing he was helped by 19-year-old Harrison Barnett.

Carmody and Barnett were captured on CCTV at a shop in Pitsea, and leaving a pub in Benfleet, in the days following the murder.

Our investigation revealed Barnett had provided shelter to Carmody, allowing him to use his mobile phone to speak with friends and family, and to conduct the internet searches.

On Barnett’s phone, we found searches for our appeal and news articles covering the stabbing.

A further internet search queried how a person can leave the country without a passport.

Barnett, of St Marys Crescent, Basildon, was arrested and later denied a charge of perverting the course of justice, but stood trial alongside Carmody and was convicted.

He too will be sentenced at a later date. 

'Never a good reason for carrying a knife'

Detective Chief Inspector Ashley Howard, of our Serious Crime Directorate, said:

“Firstly and most importantly, I must address the fact the victim, a family man with young children, lost his life in the most cruel and needless fashion.
“Max had everything ahead of him.
“Instead, he was killed for simply caring about the safety of his neighbourhood.
“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.
“He stabbed Max deliberately and with purpose, intending to cause at the very least, serious harm to his victim.
“Nothing will give Max’s family their loved son, partner, father, brother and friend back.
“They have been supported throughout our investigation and the trial by specialist family liaison officers, but they must in their own way each now come to terms with a future without Max.
“Hopefully, they can draw some small amount of solace from the knowledge his killer has been brought to justice.
“Right from the outset of this investigation, when we received a call reporting Max had been seriously assaulted, a dedicated team of officers and staff were committed to apprehending the person responsible.
“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.”

In a statement issued before the trial, Max’s family said:

“Our beloved Max. Son, fiancé, father, brother, friend.
“Max, the life and soul of us all.
“Always will 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.”

At Essex Police we put victims at the heart of everything we do. The Victims’ Code explains the rights that everyone can expect to receive as a victim of crime, and helps us define what we must do for all victims from their initial contact with our force until the conclusion of their case.

Find out more about the code and to understand the rights of a victim of crime, on our support for victims and witnesses of crime page.

To report a crime, please use our digital 101 service. In an emergency call 999. 

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