IMPACT ON VICTIMS:GARDA INSPECTOR Paul Scott told the court that the family continues to suffer anxiety and post-traumatic stress four years after the robbery, and that Mr Richardson feels "the old Paul is dead" and a more serious, anxious and alert man is in his place.
He said Mr Richardson feels particularly vulnerable when he hears of other tiger kidnappings in the media.
The trial had heard that Marie Richardson was in her home with her 13-year-old son Kevin when they heard a knock on the door. She assumed it was her husband who had gone to pick up their other son Ian (17) from football practice. When she opened the door four masked men forced their way into the house.
One of them grabbed her by the throat and forced her up against the wall, before she and her son were led into the sitting room. One of the men was described as extremely heavily built and wearing a boiler suit which did not fit, so he was forced to tie it around his waist. Another man was “sweating profusely” as he confronted the family.
The men then brought in a box containing an Uzi submachine gun, revolver, a knife and a Polaroid camera. A short time later Mr Richardson and his son Ian arrived home, and they were also brought into the sitting room.
When Ian saw the scene, he had a panic attack and had to be given a paper bag to breathe into. One of the raiders, armed with the revolver, took Mr Richardson into a back room and told him what they wanted him to do. Mr Richardson later told gardaí the man seemed to have intimate knowledge of Securicor procedures and phraseology, such as “buster button”. He also had what was either a Securicor walkie-talkie or a Garda frequency scanner.
Polaroid pictures were taken of the raiders pointing their guns at the family. These pictures were given to Mr Richardson to show his co-workers, so he could prove his family was in danger.
Insp Scott said the Richardsons were taken to Cloon Wood in Co Wicklow, leaving Mr Richardson to spend the night captive in his home. He said two raiders took Marie, Ian and Kevin Richardson up a path in the woods prior to their release and bound their wrists with cable, which Kevin later cut using a small knife on his key ring, until the raiders got a call to say the €2.28 million had been deposited. Paul Richardson told gardaí he was confined to the living room, but that he heard snoring from his son’s bedroom during one accompanied trip to the bathroom.
Insp Scott said this tied in to forensic scientists finding Kavanagh’s DNA on a pillow case. He said Mr Richardson travelled to work the following morning and got colleagues to help by showing them the Polaroids.
Insp Scott said the cash drop-off point at the Angler’s Rest pub near the Liffey was out of public view. He said Mr Richardson drove slowly towards Mullingar after he had deposited the cash, expecting a call from the raiders to say his wife and children were safe.
The inspector said Mr Richardson was “in a state of collapse” when he finally stopped driving and Securicor told him over the radio that his family was unharmed.