VIDEO: Gateshead Murder Victim Reconstruction
15 June 2013, 06:00 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50
Six months after a Gateshead man was found murdered in his house, police have made a reconstruction of his last movements.
32 year old John Roberts, was found dead inside his home in Park Terrace on Sunday December 16th, 2012.
A team of detectives have been working on the murder investigation and in the last six months have carried out over 1,200 house to house enquiries and spoken to thousands of people as part of the inquiry.
Now, on the six month anniversary of John's murder, and based around a number of witness reports, officers have put together a filmed reconstruction (VIDEO BELOW) outlining John's last known movements the day before he was killed.
The reconstruction - which is presented by Detective Superintendent Roger Ford - recreates two sightings of John on Saturday, December 15th, the day before the murder.
The first was of John in the alley round the back of his house at around 5:30pm.
He was speaking with a man and it looked as if they had been arguing while walking down towards John's house.
The man is described as being white, 19 to 20 years-old, and around five foot ten inches tall. He had short fair hair and was clean shaven.
He was wearing a waist-length dark brown or green bomber-style jacket and blue jeans.
The second was in the Kandola Brothers store in Hazel Road at around 6:30pm. John visited the shop and bought cigarette papers.
The aim of the reconstruction is to jog people's memories of that night and for anyone who might have seen John or know anything that could help police with their enquiries to get in touch and pass information on.
Det Supt Ford said:
"It's six months since John Roberts' was murdered in his home in Park Terrace and the investigation to catch those responsible is very much still ongoing.
Eight people have been arrested in connection with John's death and three of those remain on police bail and a dedicated team of detectives continue to work on the case.
Forensically - we are continuing to carry out enquiries on the DNA of a man and woman that were found inside John's home. This evidence could prove crucial in the long run and we are working to trace these people as they might have vital information.
We continue to work closely with John's family and I want to praise the strength they have shown throughout the last six months."
Anyone with any information is asked to contact police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.