Beautician (35) jailed for helping her killer ex-boyfriend 'lie low' after murder

Fionnuala Walsh

A woman who helped her then-partner – "an extremely dangerous" killer – "lie low" after he gunned down a young drug dealer on Dublin's northside, told her supporters “I’ll be home soon, don’t worry” after she was jailed for four years.

In March, a jury convicted Rachel Redmond (35) – the younger sister of career criminal Robert "Roo" Redmond – of attempting to impede Wayne Cooney's apprehension or prosecution while knowing or believing him to have committed murder by driving him from the scene and paying for a hotel room in her name.

The trial heard evidence that, after he got into the car, Redmond remarked to Cooney that there had been a shooting in Darndale and he replied: "It's a mad place."

Cooney had, minutes earlier, shot dead young father Jordan Davis in an execution-style killing on May 22nd, 2019, at a laneway beside Our Lady Immaculate Junior National School in Darndale. Mr Davis was pushing his four-month-old son in a pram when Cooney cycled up behind him and fired eight shots, three of which struck him, causing his immediate death.

Cooney fled the scene on his bicycle and went to a bus stop near the Clarehall Shopping Centre, where Rachel Redmond arranged to pick him up in her friend's car. That night, she paid for Cooney to stay at the Clayton Hotel near Dublin Airport.

At Monday's sentencing hearing at the Central Criminal Court, Mr Justice Paul Burns said that rather than being “revulsed” after learning about the murder, Redmond “chose to assist” her then-partner and allowed him to "lie low".

He said that there was no evidence that Redmond was reluctant to help Cooney, and she aided him to avoid capture when important forensic evidence could have been gathered.

The judge said that the maximum sentence for this type of crime is ten years and that Redmond’s actions fell in the “upper end of middle range” for offending.

He said that her assistance in the crime was “not spur of the moment” and that Redmond must have given considerable thought to what she was doing over the course of the day.

Dominic McGinn SC, defence counsel for Redmond, said last Monday that despite his client's plea of not guilty, she now accepts the jury's verdict and understands why they convicted her.

Mr Justice Burns said he had “reservations” about Mr McGinn’s statement that Redmond was “blinded by the relationship and turned a blind eye rather than deliberately setting out to commit a crime."

The judge said that he had considered the mitigating circumstances in the case, including Redmond's lack of previous relevant convictions and her good work record.

The court was told last week that Redmond has worked as a beautician, including for the IFSC and Aer Lingus. She has also worked in security for the Saudi Arabian embassy and for the psychiatric unit at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin.

He set a headline sentence of six years on each count, but reduced that to five years with both counts to run concurrently. He suspended the final year of the sentence for a period of three years.

Redmond’s only reaction to the sentencing being passed was to say: “Thank you, judge”. She told those who had come to support her: “I’ll be home soon, don’t worry.”

Redmond had taken the stand at her trial, claiming that she did not know what Cooney had done, that she was in love with him and was unable to see the bad in him.

Last week, Redmond's counsel submitted that his client was "perhaps naive" and had "turned a blind eye rather than deliberately setting out to commit a crime". The court heard that Redmond had also written a letter of apology to the family of Jordan Davis.

At trial, the prosecution described Redmond's testimony that she didn't know Wayne Cooney had committed "any crime at all" as "absolutely risible".

Seoirse Ó Dúnlaing SC, for the State, added: "The accused is saying 'I didn't know'; If you said that to a horse you would get a kick".

Following Redmond's trial, the jury took seven hours and 33 minutes over three days to unanimously accept the State's case.

After she was convicted, she shouted from the dock: "I didn't do it though, I didn't do anything."

The trial heard Ms Redmond was in phone contact with Cooney just five minutes after the shooting and remained talking to him for over three minutes. She later went to the Clayton Hotel that night, where she used her own bank card to pay for a room for Cooney while he remained out of sight.

It was the State's case that drug dealer Robert Redmond was engaged "in some acrimony" with Mr Davis. A detective testified that "tick lists" found at two addresses linked to Robert Redmond had contained the name "Jordo" – the same nickname Jordan Davis was known by – with amounts up to €153,000 recorded as owing.

€70,000 was written beside one entry with the words "not yet" in capital letters.

Evidence was given that Mr Davis was warned by Robert Redmond – "I'm on your case mate, it won't be long" and "soon, very soon bang bang" – 19 days before he was shot to death.

Cooney was convicted of the murder in 2022, while Robert Redmond pleaded guilty in April 2024 to conspiring together with Cooney to murder Mr Davis on or about May 22nd, 2019, and was sentenced to seven years in prison.

A career criminal, Robert Redmond has 99 previous convictions, which include those for the possession of firearms and ammunition with intention to endanger life and the possession of heroin, while he is currently serving a life sentence for murder. He also has convictions for blackmail and extortion, threats to kill and assault causing harm.

Rachel Redmond, who is from Coolock but has an address at Clifdenville Road, Cliftonville Avenue, Belfast, Co Antrim, was charged on two counts that on or about May 22nd and May 23rd, 2019, in the county of the City of Dublin, did knowingly or believing that another person, namely Wayne Cooney, committed an arrestable offence, to wit murder, without reasonable excuse did an act with intent to impede his apprehension or prosecution.

Ms Redmond had pleaded not guilty to the two counts.