Warning: Graphic content, readers’ discretion advised. This story contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some readers discretion advised.
The summer of 2010 saw the biggest manhunt in modern British history.
The nation’s media was thrown into a widespread frenzy as police attempted to track down just one man, Raoul Moat.
As the hunt progressed, the elusive gunman left a terrifying trail that would ultimately shatter the tranquillity of the beautiful Northumbrian countryside.
Growing up in Newcastle’s West End, Raoul Moat never knew his father and had a troubled relationship with his mother.
As an adult, he yearned to create his own perfect family to rid himself of his painful childhood memories.
But with this desire came a string of failed relationships and a personality on the edge of breaking point.
The first victims of his callous spree were his ex-partner and her new boyfriend – on the surface a fatal attack by a jilted lover but deep down lay a paranoid resentment that would lead the gunman to actively target the Northumbrian police force.
As the hunted became hunter, Moat ruthlessly shot a traffic officer at point blank range, blinding him for life.
The police search escalated to unprecedented levels and the net appeared to be closing in on the gun man when his abandoned vehicle was found in the rural town of Rothbury.
Despite an exclusion zone being placed around the immediate area, Moat evaded capture in the Northumbrian wilderness for over 3 days.
He was eventually holed up on a riverbank as his rampage culminated in a 6 hour stand-off that gripped the nation.
Moat had murdered one and left two critically injured – there was seemingly only one way the spree was going to end ..
the 3rd of july 2010 newcastle upon tyne, england a city known for its industrial past and vibrant nightlife.
as friday night became saturday morning revelers filled newcastle’s clubs and bars unaware that just 7 miles away one party was about to come to a tragic end…
02,30 a.m.Birtley ,england the sound of gunfire was about to ring out through the quiet residential streets.
samantha stobbart and christopher brown vistied a friend’s house
the young couple was unaware that an armed with deadly intent was hiding in weight outsideas their evening drew to a close samantha and christopher prepared to leave
when both samantha and christopheremerged from the house he confronted them ,he imemdiately shot christopher in the upper body and then christopher tried to run away he shot him a second time
while he was lying injured he reload the gun and shot the defensless injured christopher on the ground the third shot proved to be fatal
and then turned his attention to samantha who was by this time inside the house and he fired a shot through the window and then he calmly walked away
with one dead and another critically injured
born on june the 17th 1973 raoul thomas moat had an unstable childhood his early years were further complicated by his mother’s mental healths issues.
his mother was never there he was always living with his grandmother and looked after him. he idolized her and that was his main big happy zone.
his mother remarried in 1986 and raoul moat’s teenage years were marked by a fractur relationship with his stepfather.
at the age of 24 raoul moat severed contact with his family and after a series of failed relationships met samantha stobbart in 2004.
but their six-year relationship broke down in 2010 when moat was in prison the assault of a relative.
1st of july 2010 11:00 am .HM prison durham.
Moat was released after serving just over two months of a 16 -week sentence,devestade by his broken relationship with samantha stobbart.
immediately after being granted his freedom he began meticulously gather supplies for an attack .
and armed himself with a sawn -off shotgun modifying the ammunition to make it more leathal .
at 2:40 am on the 3rd of july just 48 hours after his release moat put his plan into actiong. gunning down his ex – girlfriend samantha stobbart and her new partner christopher brown.
on the surface a vengeful attack by jilted lover but deep down a festering resentment remained and raoul moat’s bloody spree was just beginning.
the 3rd of july 2010 ,bertley
overnight this small town had become the scene of a violent crime
less then 48 hours after being released from prison 37 year old raoul moat had shot his ex-girlfriend samantha stobbart and murdered her new boyfriend christopher brown in a deadly killing spree.
moat had met smantha 6 year earlier in 2004, he was a 31 year old bouncer working in newcastle’s thriving club scene, she was just 16 years old.
after six years together samantha gave birth to a baby girl and moat became a father once more having also won custody of two daughters from a previous relationship.
moat has admitted to domestic violence in previous relationships specifically with samantha stobbart.he did that in a way where he portrayed her as being provocative as if samantha made him do it.
on the 10th of june 2010 whilst he was behind bars samantha took the opportunity to put a definitive end to her abusive six year relationship with raoul moat
fabricating a story that her new partner was a police officer.
when moat shot and killed christopher brown at point blank range moat was still of the belife that that chris was a police officer.
christopher brown wasn’t a police officer that was simply something samantha had used to try and keep moat away.
he had a long running hatred and paranoia about the police and this was yet another way in which he thought the police had taken something away from him .
Moat had a history of dealings with Northumbrian police.
the vendetta he thought the police had against him stretch back many years largely based on farily minor incidents.
the police were always pulling him over for slightest thing and he was absolutely sick of it , every time he pull into a petrol station and there’s a policeman there
or they would just pull him over they check his fuel they check his tires .it was just like a non stop harassement so he was always on edge.
he had CCTV cameras around his house , he recorded all his phon calls with social services and with the police
he blamed them for his businesses going burst ,he blamed them for constantly being harassaded.
for moat , that was his default setting when something didn’t go right in his life he blamed the police.and he only had one route left to take in his eyes which was to take revenge.
29 minutes past midnight july the 4th less then 24 hours after the shootings in bertley raoul moat made a chilling phone call to the communication center at Northumbrian police HQ.
Northumbrian police had received one phone call from raoul effectively making full admisssions to shooting christopher brown ,admission to shooting samantha.
but more worryingly and sinister declaring an effective war if you on Northumbrian police officers.
early that evening traffic officer PC David Rathband was starting his late shift with the force under heightened alert for the spree gunman from the previous night
The junction of the A69 and A1 at West Denton, where PC David Rathband was shot (Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
45 minutes past midnight moments after moat’s phone call to the police
PC David Rathband was sitting in his patrol car unawarethathis life was about to be turned upside down
PC David Rathband was unaware moat had changed vechicles and was now traveling in a black lexus .
the vehcle he was expecting or hoping to see had been dumped earlier on that day and that intelligence hadn’t got out yet
so david was effectively sat there waiting looking for something that wasn’t going to come past
the individual he was looking for did though in another car and that’s when it all went horrible wrong.
Scene of shooting in Newcastle where PC David Rathband was shot and seriously injured at the junction of the A69 and A1 in the early hours of July 4, 2010(Image: Mike Urwin)
just moments afer making his call to the emergency services moat’s threat to the police became a brutal reality as his sickening spree continuted.
david had been horrifically injured he’d been shot twice in the face he was left blind there and then.
living his third victim fighting for his life raoul moat disappeared into the night amidst fear that his psree was far from over .
minutes later an agitated moat called Northumbrian police once more ,he making it clear that he was responsible for shooting PC David Rathband and again emphasizing that he would be willing to shoot more police officers
the gunman’s behavior was becoming increasingly irrational Northumbrian police called an emergency press conference in an attempt to reach out to raoul moat
with one dead two in a critical condition and with clear intent to kill again the elusive moat needed to be caught before his killing spree claimed further victims
less then 24 hours after the shooting of PC David Rathband an unexpected twist emerged and moat’s ruthless spree threatened to escalate further.
late in a sunday afternoon was two reports two separate reports which suggested that he may have had hostages with him
and those were Karl Ness and Qhuram Awan
the police were now aware that moat wastraveling in a black lexus and the net was closing in on him.
the Northumbrian police appealed to the public to help find that car quickly and it was identified and it’s location was identified
as the search moved into a new area and with the lives of two hostages in his hands the need to find moat took on a new urgencyhis savage spree was potentially spiraling out of control .
29 minutes past midnight the 4th of july 2010 raoul moat call the emergency services and declared war on Northumberland police.
moments later he ambushed PC David Rathband as he sat in his patrol car shooting him twice at point blank range before vanishing into the night with two hostages
police had released details of moat’s vehicle a black lexus and sightings were quickly reported in the community of rothbury.
less then an hour outside of newcastle this small market town sits in the rolling hills of north Northumberland.
but rothbury was about to become the focus of the world’s attention.
on the morning of 6th of july 3 days after moat’s spree had began the black lexus was found abandoned in a local car park
the hunt for the gunman and his hostages intensified as police resources poured into the immediate area.
the manhunt would soon reach unprecedented levels involving over 500 officers
a 2- mile exclusion zone set up in rothbury area.
anything that involving sighting or any arrest of raoul moats was going to involve the use of armed police officers there was no other way to do it
with the police on high alert for a potential hostage standoff the story was about to take an unexpected turn….
raoul moat had already revealed that he had taken som hostages but it became apparent as well that the police were unsure as to whether there were hostages or accomplices.
Karl Ness and Qhuram Awan were infact in collusion with raoul moat they had each delivered two messages to their families one appeared to be a genuine hostage letter
but the second was a note explaining that they were actaully in the safe hands of their friend-raoul moat
their concernedfamilies submitted these letters to the police
as police were quickly trying to get their resources moved moat was able to melt into the countryside
while Karl Ness and Qhuram Awan tried to make their escape along the open road .
the police helicopter was very quickly above them
one police car drove past them with an officer in to possibly identify them once he did that he radioed to colleagues who followed in a second police car
who throw a thunder flash at their feet this momentarily stunned them and other officers came out and arrested them at gunpoint.
Karl Ness and Qhuram Awan in custody the full extent of their involvement in raoul moat’s spree started to become clear.
footage emerged that revealedthe movements of moat’s and his accomplices before and during his spree. they’re caught on CCTV buying things from Tesco, they buying all sorts of everyday items to help moat.
but what led two men to assist raoul moat in his vengeful rampage?
he was highly manipulative, he was able to make people feel as if they were in the wrong as if they’d wronged him and that gave him leverage and purchase to get other people to do what he wanted them to do .
they were very unusual charachters in this because they didn’t seem to gain anything other than in a way looking up to moat
they wanted to impress him they were more than willing to help him carry out these horrifics acts and there was nothing in it for them.
karl ness a bodybuilder and former nightclub dorman had known moat for several years has also worked as a bouncer in newcastle during moat’s incarceration ness had been in regular contact with moat through prison visits and telephone calls
but one conversation was really interesed in that he asked Ness to get a particular individual to visit him while he was in prison because he was an individiual who could get him what he descrbied was a car with six wheels.
when the police looked at the people involved they’re only explanation for a car with six wheels is a gun and and the associated ammunnition .
7th of july 2010 rothbury northumberland the day following the arrests of karl ness and qhuram amen
with moat still at large police discovered a makeshift campsite where he’d been hiding out amongs the debris a disturbing message from moat was found .
forcing the police to take urgent action.
another press conference where they told that they had found a dictaphone that moat had left in one of the places that he’d been camping at.
on that he gives details of the facts that he’s been following the media coverage that he’d been angered by it
he was getting very agitated by the way he was been portrayed in in the press and he decided that or he declared on that dictaphone that for every lie that was told he would shoot an innocent member of the public
fearing for public safety a media blackout was imposed.
the 8th of july 2 days after the arrest of ness and Awan moat was still on the run.
he had no car ,he had no longer access to money or as far as anyone knew no longer had accesss the outside world
he wasn’t in touch with anybody else, so his ability to move around had clearly been reduced .
but how was this former nightclub bouncer evading capture in norththumberland wilderness
he holidayed frequently in Rothbury , he enjoyed capming it was an area that was familiar to him, he used to go fishing there,he knew the area so he knew what he was doing.
despite the 2 -miles exclusion zones set up by the police, the challenging terrain provided moat with plenty of opportunitites to remain invisible
as the police search continued with no reported sightings of moat.
tension in the Rothbury area was rising.
people were scared ,everyone was conscious that there was an armed and dangerous man on the loose.
rumors were rife and fears were growing that the gunman could even be living amongst them-there were rumors that moat had gone into the center of the village during the manhunt.
here is a storm drain where it’s thougt that raoul was hiding.
people would say there’s storm drains that lead underneath the village that you could go from remote area
and actually end up coming up through a drain in the village you can nip in the early hours of the morning and just become a scavenger in the bins in allotments green houses.
these are the gardens behind the wall where it’s thought that raoul was going in to steal vegetables and food.
as moat continued to remain one step ahead of the police local residents were becoming increasingly unnerved
no one quite knew how much ammunition or how many guns he had possession of and it was a real sense of fear throughout the area
at 7 :25 pm ib the 9th of july 6 days after the vengeful rampage began a member of the public reported citing a man answering moat’s description on the banks of the river near the center of Rothbury.
as armed police descended a standoff developed as moat raised the gun used to carry out his deadly spree
but this time his weapon was pointing at his own head.it was his intention that it would end in that field in Rothbury that night.
at 2;40 am on the 3rd of july 2010 raoul moat emarked on a vengeful killing spree leaving one dead and two more critically wounded.
moat’s car was finally found abandoned 3 days after his rampage began in in the rural town of Rothbury.
7 :25 pm the 9th rothbury riverside having evaded capture for a further 3 days a member of the public reported sighting moat on the banks of the river CoQuet .
reports came through that he’d finally been cornered in the area of edge of Rothbury town center.
press and public were immediately cleared from the area as armed police descendedon the scene
he sunk to his knees put the gun to his head and the next final hours of moat’s life were played out on the river bank . as the standoff between police and raoul moat unfolded the nation was captivated by rolling 24 hours news.
it was live on every news channel that’s were there
journalists at the newspaper all they could do was watch and wait.
the whole world seemed to be transfixed on what’s happening in rothbury.
this is where the standoff took place it was around this area here , it’s where raoul was with the gun underneath him.
behind the scenes police have been analyzing moat’s behavior throughout the spree preparing for every eventuality
a team of negotiators had been working all week for that eventuality they knew his background they knew waht made him tick and they knew what annoyed him.
he spoke emotionally about close relationships ,he was immun to any requests , they made of him and start try to persuade him that kiling himself was not the only option.
after 6 hours of negotiation the mood of the stalemat change as moat became increasingly agitated.
you could hear that there was a commotion ,at that point it was clear to everybody present that he had made his mind up ,he was ready to finish the whole episode.
the police attempted to incapacitate moat with a shotgun style tazer.
at approximately 1:15 a.m almost immediately after the police tazer’s were discharged raoul moat fired the final shot of his killing spree
shortly after an ambulance crew took him to newcastle general infirmary and shortly after his arrival
it became known that he was actually dead and he’d taken his own life with the shotgun that he’d had with him throughout that week .
After the biggest british manhunt of a generation involving over 500 police officers and costing Northumbrian police in excess of 1 million pounds
roaul moat’s ruthless rampage was finally over
Moat (left) killed Chris Brown because he was jealous he was going out with his ex-girlfriend
The roles Ness and Awan played in Moat’s madness were not revealed until the pair stood trial accused of crimes Moat would no doubt have been charged with had he not killed himself.
Ness, then 27, and 24-year-old Awan, were convicted of conspiracy to murder police officers and the attempted murder of PC David Rathband in 2011. Ness was also convicted of murdering Christopher, despite not pulling the trigger
Both were jailed for life, with Ness, of Dudley, North Tyneside, ordered to serve a minimum of 40 years while Awan, of Blyth, Northumberland, must serve a minimum of 20 years.
Ness later failed in a bid to have the minimum term of his sentence reduced after Court of Appeal judges rejected his claims that it was “excessive”.
However, it was later revealed that the pair helped Moat set up a secret camp in a field outside Rothbury and went shopping for supplies without Moat – but never raised the alarm. The jury rejected their hostage claims, believing both Ness and Awan had been willing accomplices of Moat.
Awan’s family claim he had met Moat through work colleague Ness just hours before the shootings. His sister, Sadaf Awan-Furness, told the Chronicle that her mechanic brother’s involvement in Moat’s crimes was completely out of character.
Samantha Stobbart, who was shot in the stomach by Raoul Moat, wipes her eyes today after the verdict at Newcastle Crown Court
PC David Rathband, blinded after being blasted in the face by Moat, with his wife Kath today, who broke down in tears as the verdict was delivered
Highlights
Getaway car: The Lexus owned by Awan who drove Ness and Moat about during the rampage
Support: Ness joins Moat, left, on a supplies trip to B&Q in Newcastle
Impromptu campsite: Ness helped pitch the tent Moat hid in while on the run
Evidence: A letter sent by Awan to his sister. It helped tip police off over where Moat was hiding
Camping equipment believed to have been used by Raoul Moat while in Rothbury(Image: Northumbria Police/PA Wire)
Police on the streets of Rothbury, Northumberland as fugitive Raoul Moat lies in a field surrounded by armed police on July 9, 2010 (Image: David Thompson/PA Wire)
Police negotiate with a man fitting the description of fugitive gunman Raoul Moat on July 9, 2010 in Rothbury(Image: 2010 Getty Images)