Detectives investigating the death of Robert Hart have launched a new appeal targeting festival-goers returning to Manchester for this year’s Parklife Weekender Festival.
Robert, 26, died on June 11 last year, five days after the assault at the music festival which left him fighting for life with bleeding on the brain.
It has been nearly a year since the attack – which occurred on June 7 – and Greater Manchester Police are still hunting the man responsible.
Officers have interviewed more than 200 potential suspects and witnesses in the 12 months since, and have trawled through hundreds of hours of video footage and photographs in a bid to identify the offender.
Now, as Heaton Park prepares to welcome back the 70,000-strong crowds for each day of the popular music event, GMP have launched a new appeal targeting those people who attended last year’s festival.
Digital advertising vans will be parked at each of the festival entrances, appealing for anyone who attended last year’s Parklife Weekender to send any video footage or pictures taken at the event to police.
POSTER: GMP are appealing to festival goers at this year’s Parklife
The investigation has set up a new email address, [email protected], to receive any photographs or video footage sent, while the hashtag #helpbobby will be used online in a bid to further raise awareness of Robert’s plight.
Some of the greatest advances in the investigation have come following information and digital media being sent in by festival-goers, with previous public appeals for pictures and footage allowing detectives to build a picture of the crowd surrounding Robert at the moments just before the assault took place.
HUNT: Police have released a picture of Robert just before the attack
While the picture of the man responsible for the attack has so-far remained elusive, the Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Superintendent Phil Reade, believes this appeal still represents the best possible chance of identifying him.
Det Supt Reade said: “The investigation into the death of Robert Hart has been one of the most challenging I have been involved with as a detective.
“Since that fateful day almost a year ago, no stone has been left unturned in a bid to find the man who attacked Robert.
“We have travelled the length and breadth of the country and our officers have thoroughly investigating each of the 227 names given to us by members of the public in the course of the investigation.
“All of those people have since been eliminated.
“Not only that, but we have meticulously reviewed hundreds of hours of video footage and forensically examined many hundreds of photos provided by media outlets, Parklife organisers and members of the public.
“We have been within a few feet of having seeing this man in a picture and being able to identify him, but unfortunately the shot we need has eluded us.
“That is why this push for anyone who was at Parklife last year to send in any footage or pictures they may have of the event is so important.
“Robert’s attacker is on one of those photos somewhere, but we still need the public’s help to find him and bring some peace to the loved ones he has left behind.”
A £23,000 reward offered by the Parklife organisers and Crimestoppers remains available to anyone who provides information which leads to the conviction of Robert’s attacker.
Anyone with information can contact the incident room direct on 0161 856 9283 or email the incident room on [email protected] with any relevant footage.
Alternatively you can call police on 101 or independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Picture courtesy of Facebook, with thanks.
