Whirlwind Romance Turns Deadly
A whirlwind romance that began with a light-hearted social media exchange and promises of a fresh start ended in violence, betrayal and murder.
Paris Wilson and Danny Cahalane's relationship began while he was serving a prison sentence.
It grew into a shared life, business and a family in Plymouth but beneath it the cracks were beginning to form.
A jury has now found Wilson, who helped orchestrate the fatal acid attack on 38-year-old Cahalane in February 2025, guilty of manslaughter.
It brings to a close a case that charted the collision of two vastly different lives - the career-driven professional who fell for a career criminal.
But how did their loved-up relationship, once full of promise, end in separation, threats and his murder?
Although the pair had never previously met, they had mutual friends.
Cahalane was serving time in Dartmoor Prison for drug dealing when the first message from Wilson appeared on his social media feed, because of those connections, in 2015.
She was joking with her mother in a reply on a Facebook post when Cahalane noticed the exchange and sent her a message.
What began as a throwaway interaction between mother and daughter led to long phone calls from behind prison walls, but their lives could scarcely have looked more different.
Cahalane grew up on the Rockingham estate in south London near Elephant and Castle, where drug dealing was common and increasingly part of everyday life, the trial heard.
From a young age he mixed in those circles and eventually became involved himself, going on to work within criminal networks, supplying drugs on a significant scale across London and in the South West.
In 2012, he was jailed for eight years for conspiracy to supply cocaine and money laundering.
Wilson's path took her in the opposite direction.
She attended Devonport High School for Girls, staying on to complete her A‑levels and later graduated with a degree in political science from the University of Plymouth.
She found work in the offshore renewable energy industry, travelling around the country, but her life appeared settled and rooted in Plymouth.
Yet while Cahalane was still in prison, their contact deepened. The court heard the pair spoke for hours on the phone.
He told her he wanted a fresh start with plans for a gym, a future as a family man - a life far removed from crime.
When he was released, they met in person for the first time on a date in Plymouth. Wilson said she remembered laughing "the entire time".
Cahalane, she told the court, was "charming - he could charm the paint off a wall". His presence filled a room and drew people in "in a positive way", she said.
When asked why she decided to pursue a relationship with a man she knew had a serious criminal past, Wilson said she believed that "people deserve a second chance".
The relationship gathered pace quickly. Within months Cahalane was posting online that he had spent "six months with the love of my life".
They travelled together to fitness events, started living together in Plymouth and had a daughter.
In October 2019 they opened a gym in the city - presenting it on social media as a family business "with charity and the environment at its heart".
Friends and followers saw images of the pair smiling and laughing together on the gym floor.
Cracks Begin to Show
But that picture began to unravel in February 2020, when police arrested Cahalane after finding a holdall containing cocaine and cash at their gym.
Wilson told the court the discovery was "completely unexpected". She said she was furious and described the experience as humiliating.
Even so, the couple married in October 2020. Wilson said they were "super happy" at the time but that period did not last.
In January 2022 Cahalane was given a suspended prison sentence for possession with intent to supply cocaine and money laundering, and their relationship soon collapsed.
Further chaos followed that spring when their home was burgled.
Nothing obvious was taken but Wilson said Cahalane ran upstairs, searched the loft and began swearing, later telling her that cocaine worth £80,000 had been stolen.
By June 2022 they had separated.
Wilson moved out for what she described as "a fresh start", while Cahalane remained in Plymouth and began a new relationship, but they continued to share responsibility for their daughter.
Threats and Debt
In November 2024, Wilson received a message on Snapchat from Ryan Kennedy, who the court was told was a drug dealer known as Frost and described by prosecutors as one of Cahalane's bosses.
Kennedy contacted her about a £120,000 drug debt he said Cahalane owed him, the jury was told.
Although Wilson replied that she and Cahalane were no longer together, Kennedy allegedly told her there was still a problem.
According to Wilson, Kennedy said the debt could become "everybody's debt".
However, Cahalane dismissed the threat, telling her it was "ridiculous" and that Kennedy was "a child". But the messages continued.
Kennedy pressed Wilson for information about Cahalane's whereabouts and, in an online chat with her mother, Wilson said he had offered her "a few grand" for information.
She told the jury it was "a consideration" but insisted she did not know where Cahalane was and that nothing came of it.
But prosecutors told the court Wilson knew "exactly what was going to happen" on the night Cahalane was targetted at his home on Lipson Road in Plymouth – an attack that marked the final chapter of a relationship that began with a message on social media.
Fatal Acid Attack
On the night of the attack, two men armed with sulphuric acid and a screwdriver forced their way into Cahalane's home.
Cahalane chased them out but they came back in and one threw acid on him. He was taken to hospital where he died more than two months later.
Convictions and Sentencing
Abdulrasheed Adedoja, 23, and Israel Augustus, 26, both from London were found guilty of Cahalane's murder, while Ramarnee Bakas, 23, of London, was - like Wilson - found guilty of manslaughter.
Wilson and Jean and Arrone Mukuna - aged 24 and 25 respectively and both from London - were found guilty of attempted kidnap.
Isanah Sungum, 22, from Edmonton in London, was found guilty of being part of an organised crime gang.
A provisional sentencing date for Wilson, Adedoja, Augustus and Bakas has been set for 8 June, and judge Ms Justice Norton has warned them to expect long jail terms.
Earlier, Sungum was jailed for two years and two months. The Mukunas were both jailed for 16 months for attempted kidnap. Jean Mukuna was also jailed consecutively for three years for possession of cocaine with intent to supply.
Jude Hill, 44, from Plymouth, who admitted a charge of being concerned in the supply of cannabis, was jailed for two years and eight months.
Where is Ryan Kennedy?
The man known as Frost left the UK years ago and is believed to have directed the plot that ended with Cahalane's murder.
The court heard he issued instructions to the attackers from overseas, relying on distance and disguise to avoid capture.
Prof Mark Mackarel, a law expert at the University of Exeter's Cornwall campus, said that was typical of fugitives.
"You are dealing with people who do not want to be located and certainly do not want to be extradited," he said.
"They will cover their tracks, disguise their identity and keep moving."
He said locating a suspect was often the hardest step, and success depended on cooperation between forces.
"Interpol is now a high‑speed intelligence network, alongside informal police contacts," he said. "Those relationships really matter."
Cases such as Warrington gang leader Leon Cullen showed how that could work, he explained. Cullen fled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2018, using a false passport, but was identified, arrested and extradited in 2021.
Mackarel also said past cases showed how offenders once exploited legal gaps. Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs avoided extradition for years after fleeing to Brazil but such loopholes have largely closed.
"Countries work far more closely than they once did," he said.
He added the UAE no longer offered the safe haven some might expect, with a number of extraditions to the UK in recent years.
If Kennedy is found, he said, the legal route already exists.
"If there is a case against him, he is likely to be extradited," he continued. "It will take time but the process is there."
Devon & Cornwall Police said it was unable to comment.
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