Machete attacker jailed for murdering 'defenceless dad' Max Richardson in Harlow

• Callum Fairhurst reports from Harlow, as Max Richardson's killer was jailed for life

A machete-wielding teenager who murdered a "defenceless" father in front of a young child in a park, has been jailed.

Tieran Carmody, 19, attacked Max Richardson in August 2023 after the 35-year-old asked him what he was doing hanging around a park in Harlow, Essex.

Carmody was found guilty of murder at Chelmsford Crown Court in May and on Monday was jailed for life with a minimum term of 26 years at Southwark Crown Court.

Prosecutors said Carmody had been hanging around near Mr Richardson's home in Joyners Field on 21 August and was questioned by a group of adults.

An altercation followed and Mr Richardson, a father of three children aged 13, six and two, was punched and knocked to the ground.

Carmody then produced a machete and approached the group, who held their hands in the air.

“They were surrendering,” prosecutor Andrew Jackson told jurors during the trial. “It demonstrated that they did not have any intention of harming the man who had a machete. The defendant had every intention of himself causing harm with that machete."

He added: "He walked to Mr Richardson who had got to his feet and had his hands in the air. He was defenceless.”

The fatal stabbing, through the stomach, took place in front of a young child, the court was told.

Southwark Crown Court heard witnesses describe the attack as a 'calm and deliberate act'.

Carmody had been seen in the area four days before the attack, said prosecutors, who believe that he was seeking "to buy or sell some drugs".

Carmody then fled and spent the night at home, before travelling to a friend's house elsewhere in Essex the next day.

Harrison Barnett, 19, of Pitsea in Essex, was later convicted of perverting the course of justice.

He had sheltered to Carmody, allowing him to use his mobile phone to speak with friends and family, and to conduct the internet searches - including looking for media coverage of the murder and searching for how to leave the country without a passport.

He was jailed on Monday for 18 months - 15 months for perverting the course of justice and a further three months for activating a previous suspended sentence.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Richardson's mother Carol said: "Having to sit in court and see what we have seen and hear what we have heard is replaying and haunting me on a daily basis.

"Having to say goodbye to someone you love, my son, breaks my heart into small pieces.

Addressing her son, she added: "We all miss you and love you so much, rest in peace with Nan now, Max."

Mr Richardson's partner Sarah said: "No one will ever understand the impact of witnessing your partner of 14 years and the father of your three children, being murdered right in front of you and that feeling of instantly losing it all.

"Max was not only a partner and a father, but he was also a son and a brother and again no-one can ever know how that feels to lose a son or a brother in these tragic circumstances.

"Mine and my children’s lives have been torn apart and our lives will never be the same again after losing Max.

"The heartache and pain this has caused us cannot even be put into words. You have taken someone from us that can never be replaced, ever.

Det Ch Insp Ashley Howard, of Essex Police's serious crime directorate, said: "In a matter of seconds, Max Richardson was mortally wounded in a brutal and entirely senseless act of violence.

"He wanted to ensure his children felt safe in the public space near their home, he wanted to tell Tieran Carmody to stop scaring them.

"Carmody responded with needless ferocity, using a large knife to swiftly and deliberately end Max’s life.

"In doing so, he left Max’s loving family utterly devastated."

He added: "Carmody has forever blighted the life of his victim’s family, but he has also ruined his own life.

"He will spend his best years where he belongs – in a prison cell."

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