Crime & JusticeBreaking
Simon Richardson found guilty of murdering head teacher Michael Mullins
By Mantle News
Coverage spectrum
Covered by 3 outlets, mostly center (67%).
4 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias
A jury at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court has found Simon Richardson, 35, guilty of murdering Michael Mullins, 56, a head teacher who was cycling home from work on 20 April in Warburton, Greater Manchester, when he was struck by Richardson’s car. Richardson was also found guilty of dangerous driving and will be sentenced on Monday. Prosecutors said Richardson fled, stopped to try to dislodge Mullins, then drove on with him trapped under the vehicle for more than a mile. The BBC reports that a passenger, Richardson’s cousin Gabrielle Debotte, had told police she saw the crash and named him as the driver.
Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works
What happened
Key points
Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.
Simon Richardson, 35, was found guilty of murdering Michael Mullins, 56, a head teacher struck by his car while cycling home in Warburton on 20 April.
Reported byLeft1Center2See the outletsHide the outlets
- Left
- The Guardian
- Center
- BBC News, Sky News
Mullins was dragged under the car for more than a mile.
Reported byLeft1Center2See the outletsHide the outlets
- Left
- The Guardian
- Center
- BBC News, Sky News
Prosecutors said Richardson fled, stopped to try to dislodge Mullins, then drove on with him underneath, and that he was aware the cyclist was trapped.
Reported byLeft1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
- Left
- The Guardian
- Center
- BBC News
Richardson was also found guilty of dangerous driving and will be sentenced on Monday.
One outletBBC News· Center
Richardson’s cousin Gabrielle Debotte, 27, told police she witnessed the crash from the passenger seat and named him as the driver; the BBC reports her evidence helped secure the verdict.
One outletBBC News· Center
How each side tells it
Compare views
Every side present reports that Simon Richardson was found guilty of murdering head teacher Michael Mullins, who was dragged under his car for over a mile. The main difference is emphasis: the left headline describes the driving, while center headlines lead with the verdict or a passenger’s confession.
the left
1 outlet
The only left article is a PA Media report under a Guardian headline that leads with the driver’s act: a man who ran over a cyclist and dragged him for a mile.
Man who ran over cyclist and dragged him under car for a mile convicted of murder
The GuardianLeftAll left-leaning headlines the center
2 outlets
Center headlines state the verdict plainly, such as Man guilty and Motorist guilty of murder; the BBC feature centers on a passenger’s confession and the BBC headline names the victim as a teacher.
Man guilty of dragging teacher to his death in car
BBC NewsCenterAll center headlines the right
No coverage yet
No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.
The words they chose
Language to notice
Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.
Left1
mowed down
Center0
No loaded words in its own voice.
Right
Has not covered this story.
In the outlets’ own words
Loaded verb
mowed downMore neutral: hit
Mowed down is vivid and implies deliberate force, while the crash itself is described in neutral terms elsewhere in the same article.
…was under his 4×4 as he kept driving in Manchester, jury heard A motorist who mowed down a cyclist and dragged him under his car for more than a mile has been found guilty…
Used byThe Guardian (Left)
See for yourself
Side by side
What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.
From the left
1 outletLeads with
- the driver running over the cyclist
- dragging for over a mile
- driver’s awareness of the trapped cyclist
See the headline from the leftHide the headlines
Man who ran over cyclist and dragged him under car for a mile convicted of murder
Simon Richardson knew headteacher Michael Mullins was under his 4×4 as he kept driving in Manchester, jury heard A motorist who Loaded verb“mowed down”Mowed down is vivid and implies deliberate force, while the crash itself is described in neutral terms elsewhere in the same article.More neutral: hitDisagree with this highlight? a cyclist and dragged him under his car for more than a mile has been found guilty of murder. …
From the center
2 outletsLeads with
- the guilty verdict
- the victim’s job as a head teacher
- the dragging distance
- a passenger’s confession
See the 2 headlines from the centerHide the headlines
- Sky NewsCenter
Motorist who dragged cyclist under his car for more than a mile guilty of murder
A motorist has been found guilty of murder after hitting a cyclist and knowingly dragging him for more than a mile under his car.
- BBC NewsCenter
How a passenger's confession helped convict her cousin of murder
Simon Richardson hit cyclist Michael Mullins with his car and dragged him along for over a mile.
1 more from BBC News
From the right
0 outletsNo right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.
The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?
The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.
Who reported it when
How the coverage built up
Left
35 min later
Its first report, Oct 30, 8:28 AM EDT
Center
First to report
BBC News, Oct 30, 7:53 AM EDT
Right
No report yet
From the outlets Mantle follows
See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
- BBC NewsCenterOct 30, 7:53 AM EDT
- The GuardianLeftOct 30, 8:28 AM EDT
- Sky NewsCenterOct 30, 1:25 PM EDT
Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.
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