In 2010, Britain saw the largest manhunt in the country’s modern history after 37-year-old Raoul Moat embarked on a two-day shooting rampage, killing one and injuring two others in a revenge-fuelled rage. The pursuit for the Geordie man lasted one week before Moat took his own life near the Northumberland town of Rothbury, following a tense six-hour standoff with armed police officers under the command of Northumbria Police.
Who was Raoul Moat?
Raoul Thomas Moat, born in 1973, worked as a bouncer and tree surgeon in his native Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The gunman was raised in the Fenham area of Newcastle primarily by his grandmother, along with his half-brother Angus. Moat never knew his biological father and his mother allegedly spent much time in mental health facilities, reportedly struggling with bipolar disorder herself.
Who were Raoul Moat’s victims?
Moat’s victims included ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart, her new partner Chris Brown, and police constable David Rathband. Stobbart was hospitalised while Brown was sadly killed. Rathband remained in hospital for nearly three weeks, left permanently blinded before later dying by suicide on 29 February 2012. Moat shot all three with a sawn-off shotgun just two days after his release from Durham Prison.
What happened?
Raoul Moat had been in a relationship with Samantha Stobbart for six years, a dynamic plagued by domestic violence stemming from Moat’s paranoid personality disorder and fits of rage. Despite the abuse, Stobbart remained with him until Moat was imprisoned for eighteen weeks for assaulting his nine-year-old daughter from another relationship.
Upon his incarceration, Stobbart informed Moat she was ending their relationship and pleaded for him to leave her be. Though Moat swore he would change, Stobbart knew these were empty promises. The two shared a young daughter together.
While imprisoned, Moat harassed Stobbart relentlessly with phone calls and asked associates to spy on her. Finally free of him for at least four months, Stobbart became close to 29-year-old karate teacher Chris Brown.
Brown was living in a flat in Gateshead and met Samantha while promoting his martial arts classes.
Upon hearing of Brown, Moat was consumed by jealousy, enraged by Stobbart moving on. Fuelled by a warped sense of possession over her, he set out for revenge.
Moat was released from Durham Prison on 1 July and allegedly arrived in the early hours of 3 July 2010 at a house in Birtley where Stobbart and her new partner, 29-year-old karate instructor Chris Brown, were visiting. Brown had moved to the area from Windsor, Berkshire, around six months previously.
According to Moat, he crouched under the open window of the living room for an hour and a half, listening to Stobbart and Brown mocking him. At 2:40 am, Brown left the house to confront Moat but was shot at close range with a shotgun, and killed. Moat then fired through the living room window while Stobbart’s mother was on the phone to the police. Stobbart was hit in the arm and abdomen and was taken to hospital to undergo liver surgery and put under armed guard.
Raoul Moat had written a 49-page confession revealing that cartridges meant for Samantha had been doctored so she would survive.
At 12:45 am on 4 July, Police Constable David Rathband was shot while sitting in a police vehicle on the roundabout of the A1 and A69 roads near East Denton. Rathband was taken to Newcastle General Hospital in a critical condition with injuries to his head and upper body.
Several Red Tops reported that Moat had called the police 12 minutes before shooting PC Rathband to taunt them and tell them what he was about to do. He did so again some 50 minutes after the shooting, during which he showed little remorse and complained the police were “not taking me seriously enough”. Police responded by saying they were taking him seriously and that Brown had no connection to the police. They urged him to hand himself in for the sake of his three children.
Evidence suggests Moat had selected Rathband randomly, merely due to his profession as a police constable, although Rathband had previously impounded Moat’s van on the suspicion of lacking valid insurance. Through a series of letters and repeated phone calls, Moat made threats to kill any officer who tried to impede his path. Both the police and some of Moat’s own family members pleaded for him to turn himself in for his children’s well-being. After a robbery sighting on 5 July in Seaton Delaval, it was shared on the 6th that Moat was thought to be in Rothbury.
After evading capture for six days, Moat was finally spotted by police officers and contained out in the open, leading to a tense confrontation. Following nearly six hours of failed negotiations, Moat was fired upon with an experimental “wireless long-range electric shock weapon” that shoots electrified rounds – which proved ineffective. Moat then turned his shotgun on himself and pulled the trigger; he was later pronounced dead at Newcastle General Hospital.
The Hunt for Raoul Moat
ITV released a three-part true crime drama series, premiering on ITV on 16 April 2023, with episodes now available through ITV X.
Diverging from similar titles fixated on infamous killers, this production spotlights the perspectives of those seeking to apprehend Moat rather than centring his malicious actions.
Specifically, the focus shines on the blameless victims of Moat’s crimes – Christopher Brown, Samantha Stobbart and PC David Rathband. Viewers gain insight into the brave police officers who risked life and limb in efforts to capture Moat. Additionally highlighted is a local journalist’s quest to relay Moat’s genuine narrative amid the sensationalist reporting and inciting nature of social media during this manhunt.
Through illuminating these overlooked angles, this series provides a more holistic examination of this dramatic real-life saga.
