Acid victim's ex says drug boss offered her cash

A murder trial has been told the ex‑wife of a drug dealer killed in an acid attack had been offered a cut if she persuaded her former husband to pay a debt.

Danny Cahalane, 38, was seriously injured at his home on Lipson Road, Plymouth, on 21 February 2025 and died in hospital on 3 May. Seven men and two women are on trial at Winchester Crown Court.

Paris Wilson, 35, from Plymouth, wrote in a message to her mother that drugs boss Ryan Kennedy, known as Frost, "will pay me a few grand" from the debt to get her ex to pay up.

Wilson, who denies murder, told jurors: "It was a consideration, but I did not know where Danny was so it did not proliferate."

The court has heard previously that Wilson had "privileged information" about Cahalane's location and "knew exactly what was going to happen" on the night he was attacked, which prosecutors say was over a £120,000 drug debt.

Wilson told the court that in November 2024 Kennedy had started contacting her on Snapchat, repeatedly pushing her to help recover the money.

She said Kennedy had warned her that the debt "was potentially going to be everybody's debt".

She told the jury she had felt "angry" that "Danny's problems were falling on me".

But when she told Cahalane about Kennedy's messages, she said he had dismissed them, telling her there was "nothing to worry about" and calling Frost "a child".

Jurors heard that in January 2025 Kennedy's messages had escalated into a claim that she could "make millions" by arranging for containers of cannabis to be shipped from South America into Plymouth.

Wilson told the court she did not take it seriously. "There was no way I could have facilitated bringing drugs into Plymouth," she said.

"It was a silly little idea that did not go anywhere."

Asked by Jennifer Knight KC, for the defence, why she had stayed in contact with Kennedy, Wilson said maintaining the chat had helped to keep him distracted from the drugs debt.

"It was quite a good pacifier if he was talking about where Danny was," she said. "If I encouraged the conversation with him he seemed to forget where Danny was."

Paris Wilson, 35, and Jude Hill, 43, from Plymouth, Abdulrasheed Adedoja, 23, Israel Augustus, 26, Isanah Sungum, 22, Ramarnee Bakas, 23 and Brian Kalemba, 23, all from London, are charged with murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter.

Wilson, Adedoja, Bakas, Augustus, Sungum and Kalemba have also been charged with being part of an organised crime gang, along with and Arrone Mukuna, 25, and Jean Mukuna, 23 from London.

Adedoja, Bakas, Wilson, Jean Mukuna and Arrone Mukuna are also charged with attempted kidnapping.

The trial continues.

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