The widow of a Raoul Moat victim has spoken out about the 'pain' a new ITV drama is bringing her and her family.
Kath Rathband said birth of her first grandchild has transformed her family’s shattered lives – only for the ITV drama The Hunt for Raoul Moat to bring back all their pain.
Kath, 52, reveals their “frustration” at the series to be screened this week – asking why their suffering is being dragged up again.
Kath’s PC husband David was shot in the face and blinded by evil Moat, from Fenham.
It was during the early hours of Saturday July 3 2010 that 37-year-old Moat, who had been freed from prison just days earlier, shot his ex girlfriend Samantha Stobbart and her new partner Christopher Brown, in Birtley, Gateshead.
Christopher, 29, died instantly while 22-year-old Samantha was left seriously injured.
Then, less than 24 hours later the gunman made a phone call to Northumbria Police declaring he intended to target police officers before creeping up on PC David Rathband as he sat in his patrol car.
Moat, from Fenham in Newcastle, shot the traffic officer in the face through the window of his car.
Moat fled to Rothbury in Northumberland where he remained on the run for a week as he was hunted by hundreds of police officers.
The manhunt came to an end during the early hours of July 10 when Moat shot himself on the banks of the River Coquet following a tense stand-off with armed police.
Shattered David took his own life 19 months later unable to cope with his horrific injuries – leaving behind a devastated Kath and children Mia and Ashley.
Now Mia, 24, has a 15-month-old son Ronnie, finally bringing joy back into the family’s haunted lives, the Mirror reports.
Kath, 52, from Blyth, said: “We talk to Ronnie about David all the time, we show him photos. Mia has a teddy bear that speaks in her dad’s voice and we now give that to him and let him hear his voice.
“Being a grandma to him is amazing, it’s absolutely the best thing ever. He just brings so much joy to all of us, and I love it. But it is bittersweet, as David isn’t here, and I know it is one of Mia’s biggest regrets that her dad won’t be there for all of the milestones in her life. It troubles her hugely.”
Ronnie’s middle name is David in honour of his tragic grandad.
“David is still very much a part of our lives. We think about how lucky we were to have him. We don’t focus on what happened to him. “We have moved on from that, which is why it is so frustrating for us that the details, already so well documented, are being brought to the forefront again.”
And Kath, who said she was notified in an email that the drama was being made, admits it is the missed opportunities to stop the killer that she finds the most agonising.
She said: “When I read the email, the first emotions were sadness, disappointment, and worry for the kids.
“It is what it is, but I don’t understand why they are doing this. What happened was so well documented, and there have been other documentaries - one is even going to be aired again this week.
“It’s going to be quite painful for me and the kids. Though we have no intention of watching it, it still has an impact because it’s on social media, it’s on newsfeed, it’s everywhere - again.
“The kids are incredibly proud to be their dad’s children, but it can be hard for them because they carry his surname. They both have close circles of friends who are fully aware of what happened, and if they were asked, they would be honest and truthful. But it isn’t fair on them.
“What I’m most concerned about is, will it raise questions there aren’t answers to? All the ‘what ifs’, and ‘if onlys’. How well informed people were about Moat - the phone calls made from prison. If people had been a bit more proactive, might these things have not happened?
“We’ve moved past that, because we’ve had to. It doesn’t change anything, and it’s not nice to be in your own head with all these questions.
“But every time I see his picture, I am straight back to when it happened. And when that happens, it’s like a video on repeat, with no pause button. You’ve got no control over it and it’s horrible.”
In spite of her disappointment, Kath chose not to respond to the email. And she admitted she feared that her concerns being ignored would cause further pain.
She went on: “I appreciate them informing me - but what I say isn’t going to change their decision to make the drama.
“I think ITV would have been open to speaking to me, but had I voiced these concerns, I don’t think it would have changed the outcome. Would that have made me feel worse? I don’t know.
“If I had spoken to them, I would have asked what had driven the decision and what was the benefit - who would this benefit? Because I don’t think it will benefit anyone apart from them. This is about what happened, and that aired on live TV.
“If the object is to inform, I don’t think there is anything that could be said that hasn’t been already. Even if there was, I don’t think this is the way to do it. And if it’s going to be sensationalised, I don’t think it should be given that platform.
“I’m not angry, because I think that’s a wasted emotion. It isn’t healthy. But none of us have come out of this unscathed. The kids lost their dad because of it - one of the most important figures in their lives - and they have grown up without him.
“They are both disappointed, and frustrated, by this. But they also believe, as I do, but there’s no point in going back. They are very focused on moving forward.
“We are really fortunate that we are such a close family and that we have travelled through this process together and have, and will always, support each other.
“A lot of that relationship is down to David, he was really family orientated, and we always had a good relationship with the kids.
“For me, I am just so proud that Ashley and Mia are both so well-adjusted and positive, they are really nice people. It would have been totally understandable if they had not been, and don’t get me wrong, it hasn’t been easy.
“But as a family, we always encouraged them to show how you’re feeling and talk about it. And I’m so proud of how far they have come.”
The three-part series has been penned by novelist and screenwriter Kevin Sampson, the man behind the Hillsbrough disaster drama Anne, which aired on ITV last year.
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