The Hunt For Raoul Moat airs from tonight on ITV1, but what happened to Moat?

By Morgan Cormack

Published: Sunday, 16 April 2023 at 12:00 am

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For many, the week-long manhunt of Raoul Moat that unfolded in 2010 is etched into British criminal history. It became one of the North East’s most infamous criminal cases and will be explored in ITV’s The Hunt For Raoul Moat.

The three-part drama will explore the case from the viewpoint of the victims and those who tried to bring the criminal to justice.

As per the synopsis: “The drama focuses on the innocent victims of Moat’s crimes – Christopher Brown, Samantha Stobbart and PC David Rathband; the police officers who put themselves in the firing line in their quest to apprehend Moat; and the local journalist who sought to tell Moat’s real story in a landscape of sensationalist reporting and social media provocation.”

But what happened to Moat at the end of the manhunt? Read on for everything you need to know.

Where is Raoul Moat now?

The former nightclub bouncer shot three people – Christopher Brown, Samantha Stobbart and PC David Rathband – in the space of 24 hours before going on the run for more than a week in the North East of England.

The Newcastle-born criminal was serving time in prison before the manhunt, completing an 18-week sentence at HMP Durham for the assault of a nine-year-old family member.

Moat targeted his ex-girlfriend Samantha and her new partner Chris and shot them both, having believed that Chris was a police officer. The shooting left Samantha with life changing injuries and sadly, killed Chris.

A day later on 4th July, Moat shot unarmed PC Rathband twice on a roundabout by the A1 in Newcastle. He was in hospital for three weeks after the attack and lost his sight. Two years later in 2012, Rathband took his own life.

Throughout the week-long manhunt, armed officers, helicopters, dogs, snipers and armoured anti-terrorist vehicles were all deployed in a bid to locate Moat.

Moat contacted the police during this time with threatening phone calls made from pay phones, stating that he would kill officers and then, later, innocent members of the public if the press continued to print what he deemed as lies about his life.

The tense seven day pursuit finally ended on 9th July after Moat was recognised by police in Rothbury. He was hiding in the National Trust’s Cragside estate and was subsequently cornered by police.

During the six-hour standoff with police, Moat held a sawn-off shotgun to his neck and in the early hours the following morning, shots were fired. Moat was later pronounced dead at Newcastle General Hospital on 10th July.

The coroner ruled the following week that Moat had died by a gunshot to the head. There was an inquest into his death after the fact that concluded the armed officers had behaved properly during the six-hour stand-off.