The killer driver and member of Cock-Wall gang who poured bleach on elderly woman
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What happened in the fatal crash that killed Lydia Lapolla?
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The killer driver caused a horror crash, which resulted in the death of a mother of two who worked as a carer and lifelong injuries for her husband, who was in the passenger seat. Michael Connors, who is 28 and from Bally Fermanton, Dublin, was only out of jail and was speeding through a housing estate at the time of the accident after he spotted a police car. After the crash, he fled the scene, leaving a third victim, his sister. 16-year-old passenger with shocking injuries. This week he was jailed for 13 years in a Welsh courtroom. So who is Connors and what are his links to the infamous Cockwall Burglary Gang? Today I'm talking with Eamon Dillon and you're listening to Crimeworld, a podcast from CrimeWorld.com.
Now we're gonna talk about a horrific crash in Wales um And what happened, but really the the the killer sorry, the glasses on here. The killer driver who was behind it uh and who he is. What was Michael Connors doing in Wales, do you
imagine? But he'd just been out of prison in the UK for for a conspiracy burglary charge. He got he got uh uh just over six years in twenty twenty one. So this is in March 25. He's in Wrexham in North Wales. And uh, you know, a I think a police officer, it was a North Wales police officer who was just on standard patrol and spotted this silver Mercedes breaking very early before a roundabout and thought it was a bit strange. Um, and then spotted the car then a short time later again, and something drew his attention to it. So he began following the car. And this guy, Michael Collers Connors from London Red. Rode and Bally Fermit. he was behind the wheel and when he realized he was being followed by the police, he put the put the foot down.
Now he was in a residential area, it was at twenty miles per hour. Um uh uh a c um a speed limit. Um and then they were able to retrieve data later from the Merck and found that he was hitting speeds of it's of seventy one was the highest. But he went through one blind junction without stopping um and could easily have hit somebody. And then on the second junction he did. He T boned uh this Toyota Yaris been driven by a forty seven year old mother of two and care worker Lydia Lapolla Um, her husband Robert was in the car as well and smashed into it at such speed that it was sent airborne and it flipped and smashed into a brick wall. So you you're talking about as bad as it gets really in terms of car crashes.
Now she was she suffered blunt uh blunt force head trauma. Um she died two days later in hospital when they turned off the the life support machine and Robert suffered serious injuries, spinal fractures. was uh kidney damage, um uh his pelvis was fractured. There w there was other injuries.
How did the police identify Michael Connors and track his escape route?
Th there was several of them listed. This is all heard in in Mold Crown Court this week. Um and it was the the sentence hearing. So he had already pleaded guilty to this. But
So their two kids lose their mother and their father's left with life changing injuries after this like out
of the blue. Insight. Absolutely. I mean they were they were going about their normal business and that was referred to in court. These are two people who are just out doing their own thing. Now th the there was victim impact statements from uh Lydia Lapolla's family, uh including her mother, her husband, her daughter as well. Yeah. Uh but there was also one, surprisingly enough, from a passenger in in the Mercedes and it was uh she was a sixteen-year-old girl who was in the passenger seat. And she actually said she felt deceived by her friends or somebody that she had asked for a lift and instead Michael Connors and another woman turned up to pick her up. Yeah. Wherever she was gonna go. And suddenly she found herself in this horrific situation.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What happened in the fatal crash that killed Lydia Lapolla?
0:02–3:18
2
How did the police identify Michael Connors and track his escape route?
3:18–5:46
3
What were the victim‑impact statements from Lydia’s family and the teenage passenger?
5:46–8:39
4
What charges was Connors convicted of and how was his 13‑year sentence determined?
8:39–11:05
5
Who are the members of the Cock‑Wall burglary gang and how is Connors linked to them?
11:05–13:37
6
What tactics do the Cock‑Wall gang use to avoid detection (bleach, trackers, vehicle swaps)?
13:37–16:47
7
How extensive is the Cock‑Wall operation across the UK, Ireland, Australia and beyond?
16:47–19:21
8
What are the broader implications of Connors’ case for future gang investigations?
19:21–22:06
Speakers
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