Simon Dobbin: five arrested on suspicion of murder seven years after assault

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jun/10/simon-dobbin-five-arrested-murder-southend

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Simon Dobbin was attacked in Southend, Essex, in March 2015 and died in October 2020

Five men have been arrested on suspicion of the murder of a man who was left permanently brain damaged by an attack on his way home from a football match and died five years later.

Simon Dobbin was assaulted in Southend in Essex after a Southend United v Cambridge United match on 21 March 2015. The former RAF serviceman died aged 48 on 21 October 2020.

He had been working as a transport manager for a fuel company until the attack. Dobbin’s family provided him with 24-hour care at home in Mildenhall, Suffolk until his death.

Essex police said they began treating his death as a homicide after medical tests showed a direct link between his death and the injuries he had sustained.

On Friday five men aged 30, 34, 39, 45 and 27 were arrested at addresses across south Essex, the force said. They are in custody and being questioned on suspicion of murder.

In November last year police announced a £20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those directly responsible for Dobbin’s death.

Det Supt Stephen Jennings, of the Kent and Essex serious crime directorate, said police had received more information and “we’ve got people that have come forward” after the appeal.

He said officers had analysed evidence obtained in 2015 “with a fine-tooth comb” and reviewed information from a trial in 2017 in which 13 men were convicted for their involvement in the attack.

Jennings said he could not comment on whether any of the five arrested men were among the 13 men convicted at the 2017 trial.

“Simon’s wife, Nicole, and their daughter, Emily, have been kept updated on our progress every step of the way,” Jennings said. “Simon was a completely innocent party in the disorder that took place that day and his family have been through an unimaginable time.

“The injuries Simon sustained that day did not just change his life, they also changed the lives of Nicole and Emily. As a team, we will do everything we possibly can to secure justice for Nicole, Emily and Simon’s wider family and friends.”

He said that as well as the five arrests, detectives were also speaking to a number of people considered witnesses to gather their accounts.

Nicole and Emily Dobbin spoke at a press conference last November as police announced the reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those directly responsible for his death.

Nicole Dobbin said they had had “over five of the most horrendous years” and “now grieve all over again” after Dobbin’s death. “Simon was 48 years old with so much to look forward to,” she said. “Now he won’t be able to grow old with me or watch his daughter get married and his grandchildren grow up. All these beautiful memories we could have made, stolen from us.”

The family appeared on an episode of DIY SOS in 2019, with the TV presenter Nick Knowles, the interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and a team of volunteers spending nine days adapting the family home to better suit their needs.