A father who was ‘doused in acid’ over £120,000 debts after he gambled away a drug kingpin’s money received chilling death threats weeks before his murder, a court has heard.
Danny Cahalane, 38, owed British drugs lord Ryan Kennedy tens of thousands of pounds after gambling with profits he made from dealing.
The father-of-two fitness instructor was drenched in acid on his doorstep in Plymouth, Devon, last year after Kennedy orchestrated the attack to show him ‘who was boss’, jurors heard. He died from his injuries in hospital 10 weeks later.
Mr Cahalane’s ex-wife Paris Wilson, 35, who he shares a child with, is on trial accused of murder alongside five men.
During a hearing at Winchester Crown Court on Thursday, messages were read out between Mr Cahalane and Kennedy, who threatened to have his victim killed.
The drugs lord told him: ‘You’re gonna die, you just need to die. You’ve done me £80k. I’m going to give them 40k extra to take the eyes out of your head.’
Mr Cahalane replied: ‘You’re talking about switching me off. I have 46 covered. Sorting for you. Been long.’
Over the next two days, Kennedy grew increasingly tired of his victim and continued to send him death threats, the court heard.
On January 18, he messaged him: ‘I’m just paying someone the bill to get you done. On my life, I ain’t messaging you again, I’ll find you by tomorrow.’
Kennedy had become ‘incensed’ at Mr Cahalane’s ‘stalling’ and failure to repay his debts, the prosecutor said, and organised a kidnap attempt on January 19, 2025.
Three men confronted the victim and attempted to open his car door, but he fled, jurors heard. Mr Cahalane was described as looking ‘wide-eyed’ and petrified by witnesses.
After the kidnap attempt failed, Kennedy texted the father: ‘Close call? Mate I’m telling you they gonna burn gaffes down and your gonna die.’
On February 21, two men broke into the victim’s home and doused him with sulphuric acid.
He was rushed to hospital but was unable to survive his ‘horrific’ injuries’, dying in hospital 10 weeks later.
His ex-wife Wilson appeared in court alongside five men on murder charges on Thursday.
Mr Kennedy is not on trial and has not been charged with any crimes as he is ‘almost certainly’ in Dubai.
The other men accused of murder are Abdulrasheed Adedoja, 23, Ramarnee Bakas-Sithole, 23, Israel Augustus, 26, Isanah Sungum, 22, and Brian Kalemba, 23.
The defendants have all pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutor Jo Martin told the court that Mr Cahalane was killed by people acting on behalf of a ‘drug dealer who wanted to enforce his debt and show Danny Cahalane who was boss’.
Ms Martin said: ‘In the early hours of the morning of the February 21, 2025, two men broke into a house in Plymouth, the home address of the victim Danny Cahalane.
‘By the time the two men had driven off, Danny Cahalane had been the victim of an acid attack – sulphuric acid had been thrown on him; burning into his whole body.
‘Despite being treated in hospital for the next 10 weeks or so, Danny Cahalane died on the 3rd May 2025 as a result of the horrific injuries he had received that night.
‘There can be no doubt, the prosecution said, that Danny Cahalane was murdered.
‘Whoever threw acid over him, must have intended to, at the very least, cause him really serious bodily harm.’
Mr Cahalane was described as ‘a sort of middle management in the drugs supply chain’.
It was also heard that someone below him in the chain had fled to New Zealand without giving him some of the money he was owed.
Speaking about messages exchanged between Kennedy and Mr Cahalane, Ms Martin said: ‘What does become clear from the messages is that Danny owed Kennedy in the region of £120,000, and what is absolutely clear from the messages is that Frost was not happy about that.’
Following the acid attack, Mr Cahalane told police that this left him ‘in the s***’ with Kennedy.
Ms Martin said: ‘Danny told the police he was in significant debt to Kennedy.
‘Danny said he tried to organise some sort of “repayment plan” but it just didn’t work.
‘Instead he did a great deal of stalling and lying.’
Adedoja, Bakas-Sithole, Augustus, Wilson, Sungum, Kalemba, Jean Mukuna, 23, Arrone Mukuna, 25, and Jenna Said, 39, have all denied participating in the criminal activities of an organised crime group.
Adedoja, Bakas-Sithole, Wilson, Jean Mukuna and Arrone Mukuna have pleaded not guilty to the attempted kidnap and attempted grievous bodily harm with intent of Mr Cahalane.
The trial continues.
