Raoul Moat’s mother has broken her silence almost 10 years after his shooting spree that sparked a huge manhunt – revealing that she has disowned her son.
In July 2010, Moat – who was 37 at the time of the two-day rampage – shot and wounded his ex-girlfriend Sam Stobbart, then 22, and killed her new partner Chris Brown, 29.
A day later, he permanently blinded police officer David Rathband with the same sawn-off shotgun used on his earlier victims.
The shootings sparked a seven-day manhunt across Tyne-and-Wear and Northumbria, finally ending when Moat shot himself in the head.
Moat’s mother, Josephine Healey, 73, has told the Mirror: ‘He is not my son.’
Pictured: Raoul Moat, who was 37 at the time of a shooting spree across Tyne-and-Wear and Northumbria in 2010, in his mugshot photo from a previous conviction
She added that the incident is still causing ‘a lot of trouble for me’ and even now – almost a decade later – abusive messages are being posted through her letterbox.
At the time of Moat’s standoff with officers, when he threatened to kill any policeman who crossed his path, Mrs Healey spoke at length about her son’s dramatic change.
She said her gentle son disappeared at the age of 19, replaced by a snarling man who hated everything – and everyone.
Pictured left to right: Step Dad Brian Healey, Mum Josephine Healey, Raoul Moat, aged 13, and Brother Angus Moat on Josephine Moat and Brian Healey’s wedding day in 1986
Two of Moat’s three victims: Ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart (left), 22, who was hospitalised in the shooting and police officer David Rathband (right), who was permanently blinded in the attack
Police pictured in July 2010, during their confrontation with fugitive Raoul Moat
He returned to her home after a lengthy absence in 2007 and, standing on the doorstep, made a gun gesture with his fingers before threatening to kill her.
‘Why would he do that?’ she asked on the penultimate day of Moat’s standoff. ‘It was like he was not my real son.’
‘He now has a totally different character, attitude and manner,’ she added. ‘Every last detail.’
Video grab shows murderer Raoul Moat lying on the riverbank in Rothbury with a shotgun point to his head
For the most part Moat was regarded as a man with an explosive temper; a muscle-bound bodybuilder addicted to steroids and anti-depressants who could flip at a moment’s notice.
Born in 1973 Moat was bought up by his grandmother in Newcastle’s deprived West End – just a few doors down from his parents, Josephine and stepfather Brian Healey.
In a bizarre twist to the police stand-off with the killer in Rothbury, which was widely reported at the time, former England footballer Paul Gascoigne showed up to try to talk Moat down.
Paul Gascoigne (pictured above) has revealed how he tried to ‘save’ one of Britain’s most wanted men Raoul Moat
Raoul Moat (above), who died in 2010 following a shooting spree in which he killed Chris Brown, and shot his former partner Samantha Stobbart and PC David Rathband
Speaking to The Mirror, Gazza said: ‘I thought that I could take Raoul Moat fishing because he was near a river. I told the taxi driver ‘head for the airport’ and then when we got to Newcastle airport I said ‘head for Rothbury’.
‘The taxi driver said ‘you are not going where I think you are going?’ And I said ‘yes I am’.’
He said he went on to tell the taxi driver that he could ‘save Moat’ because he had been through so much himself during his struggles with addiction and alcoholism.
When Gazza got out of the taxi he said he headed straight for the field where Moat was surrounded by police.
He asked police ‘where’s Moaty’, and one officer asked if he knew him personally, to which Gazza denied.
Gazza said rumours then started to circulate as to how he knew Moat with some saying they had been friends.
They had never met, but as the situation around Moat intensified, Gazza found himself on TV screens.