Hundreds Spoken To In Murder Enquiry
8 January 2013, 19:47 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50
So far around 30 calls have been made to police with information relating to the death of John Roberts in Winlaton
Police have had a good response from the local community but are continuing to appeal for the public's help.
Mr Roberts, who was 32, was found dead inside his home in Park Terrace on Sunday December 16th 2012.
A Post Mortem examination showed he died as a result of a serious head injury.
Detectives have spoken to approximately 300 people since enquiries began.
The family of John Roberts have spoken about their loss - as enquiries enter their fourth week.
Mr Roberts' funeral is being held on Friday, January 11th, and his family are appealing for anyone that may have information into his death to come forward and contact police.
His family have released the following statement:
"Whoever killed John is still out there and we would appeal for anyone who may know who did this or anyone that may have heard anything about his murder to contact the police with any information they have.
John was only still young and had so much potential and life left to live.
He will never be able to fulfil this and all we ask now is that whoever has done this is brought to justice.
John was well known throughout the area and especially among Newcastle United supporters. He loved the football club and had many friends and associates through his love of football.
We'd like to thank everyone for their kind words about John that we have seen in the media and also the messages we have had from friends and family. We really need anyone who knows who did this to John to come forward and help police catch them."
DCI Andy Potts said:
"Since the night that John's body was found in his home in Gateshead we have been carrying out numerous enquiries into his death and following a number of lines of enquiry.
We have had a positive response from the public and spoken to a number of people who had seen John in the days leading up to his death.
We are continuing to follow up a number of leads but are still extremely keen to hear from anyone who might have any information that could help us track down whoever was responsible for murdering John.
He was a well known man in the area, particularly among Newcastle United fans and he had a wide network of friends and associates and we've spoken to a large number of these, but there could still be people who know something and haven't contacted us to pass it on.
They may think it's not relevant or that it may not be helpful to police but I'd urge these people to ring us and share anything they can - it maybe more useful than they realise.
Anyone with any information can speak to police anonymously or ring Crimestoppers if they would prefer.
If anyone chooses to pass information on through Crimestoppers they can do so without giving their name or any of their details and they could receive a cash reward."
Anyone with information can report it to police on 101 or by ringing Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.