He said 'I don't want any trouble' - what happened next destroyed a family
A man who went to a festival with his girlfriend never returned. Robert Hart and his girlfriend Gemma Parry were patiently waiting for headline act Snoop Dogg to appear on stage at Parklife in 2014 when a blow-up doll was being thrown around the crowd.
As it came down to where the couple were waiting, it hit Gemma and covered her in mud after it had been raining. Robert quickly went to defend her but when he confronted the person who threw it, a scuffle broke out. Gemma was pushed over and within seconds Robert joined her on the floor.
The 26-year-old who lived in Wavertree and was a former art and design student at Liverpool John Moores University had been punched and knocked unconscious. He was rushed to hospital but had suffered a catastrophic bleed to the brain as a result of the punch. He died five days later on June 12, 2014.
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Gemma, who said how they were "inseparable" and the tickets for the festival were a surprise after the couple attended the year before at Heaton Park in Manchester, has made a fresh appeal for information ten years on from the murder as police are yet to find his killer, the Manchester Evening News reports. GMP investigators have trawled through thousands of photograph images and hours of mobile phone video footage, but say someone in the crowd may have 'unwittingly' captured a still or film that could prove invaluable.
Robert was the youngest of four children. He grew up in Rainow, Macclesfield, and went to primary school in the village before attending Fallibroome Academy. He then went on to study art and design at Liverpool John Moores University. Partner Gemma, speaking to the BBC's Crimewatch show this week, said: "We were pretty much inseparable since the day we met. He was my best friend - he really was. And he never let me down."
Gemma said they had been to Parklife the year before and Robert got tickets again and they were there with three friends. She said: "It was raining, then the sun came out as soon as we got there really. We danced, bought some drinks. We just sat there and spoke to people, just had a lovely time together."
Gemma said they went to watch the end of Rudimental's set and were waiting for Snoop Dog to come on. She added: "There was an inflatable doll and it got chucked over once then chucked back over. The second time, it hit me and covered me in mud.
"And that's when Rob turned around. He actually said he didn't want any trouble. And that's when they have turned into a scuffle. I was trying to get Rob away and that's when I got knocked over. And then it was only within seconds that he came down next to me.
"Someone just said to me 'we have got him back'. The next thing I knew he was just apologising to me. He was dazed, you know. You think because people are telling you he is alright, he is alright. He was far from it really."
Detective Sergeant Clare Smith, from GMP, told the BBC one punch 'can take lives'. She said: "There was an inflatable doll that was being thrown around the crowd and as it got thrown over them, it hit Robert's girlfriend Gemma, which covered her in mud.
"Robert turned around and spoke to the person who had thrown it, he just went to his girlfriend's defence really. This led to a bit of an altercation.
"A punch was thrown and Robert was hit. He fell to the ground and lost consciousness. He was given CPR at the scene and he did come round and he was able to make his way to the medical tent. From there he got an ambulance to the hospital. Unfortunately, a few days later, he died.
"One punch can take a life and it is a very tragic case. The person responsible may well not have been aware of the fatal impact that his actions had because he left the scene immediately afterwards."
The suspect is described as a mixed race man aged in his mid 20s and around 6ft 2in tall. He had short dark hair shaven at the sides and was muscular. At some point during the festival, he was with a white woman aged in her mid 20s with shoulder length blonde hair, possibly wearing a pink T-shirt.
Det Sgt Smith said: "We are hopeful that the passage of time may mean that those who didn't feel comfortable talking to us in 2014 may now feel brave enough to do so. If you witnessed the attack, or someone confided in you afterwards about what happened, we would like to hear from you.
"If you were taking videos and photos at the festival, you may well have captured something that helps with the investigation. If you have something that you haven't yet given to us, we would like to see it. Robert's family have had to live with this for 10 years now. We would really like to give his family some closure." The force's dedicated email address is helpbobby@gmp.police.uk - or people can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.