The daughter of Raoul Moat has spoken out for the first time, almost a decade on from her father's terrifying killing spree in Northumbria.
Katelaine Fitzpatrick, now 21, was just 11 when her father was cornered by police officers after a terrifying manhunt which left the nation gripped.
Now, speaking out about the man who refused to accept her as his own, she has told the Mirror about her lasting feelings of shame, disgust and abandonment.
With Moat having always turned down opportunities to meet with Katelaine, she heard her father's voice for the first time when his words were beamed out over television stations.
A broadcast was released of a goading call Moat made to police, threatening in a cold and chilling voice the lives of officers if they decide to pursue him on his rampage.
In July 2010, Moat - who was 37 at the time of the two-day rampage - shot and wounded his ex-girlfriend Sam Stobbart, then 22, and killed her new partner Chris Brown, 29.
A day later, he permanently blinded police officer David Rathband after creeping up on his vehicle with the same sawn-off shotgun he used on his earlier victims.
Just over 18 months after the shooting PC Rathband was found hanged at his Blyth home on 29 February 2012, after struggling to come to terms with the irreversible injuries he suffered.
The shootings sparked a seven-day manhunt across Tyne-and-Wear and Northumbria, finally ending when Moat shot himself in the head.
Speaking out on the man she is ashamed to call her father, Katelaine says she feels personally compelled to make up for Moat's evil ways.
'I'm so sorry to the people he has hurt. If I had the chance to meet the victims and their families and say I'm so sorry for what my dad did, and show that I care, I would,' she said.
'Being his flesh and blood sickens me at times, it's hard to believe who I am. I can't believe I come from that man.
'I’m so glad I didn’t know him, and that I became the person I am today despite all I have been through.'
Katelaine, who bears a resemblance of her father, says she became a victim during her school years as a result of other children bullying her with cruel taunts because of Moat's actions.
Despite the heartache and psychological pain, however, she admits the yearning for a father figure which she never had has led to a certain ritual each year.
The 21-year-old reveals she writes a birthday card each year on June 17, poignantly close to Father’s Day, before then burning it and releasing a balloon into the air.
'It is not about honouring him.' she explained. 'It is not for him, but for me, for my peace of mind.
'I do a little speech in my head. One year it might be: "I hope you’re proud of me despite everything you have done." Other times I have thought: ‘Why couldn’t you just be the right person? Do the right thing?’”
In April Moat's mother also broke her silence on the chilling ordeal, years after his shooting spree, and revealed that she has disowned her son.
'He is not my son,' said 73-year-old Josephine Healey.
She described how the incident still causes 'a lot of trouble for me' and even now - almost a decade later - abusive messages are still posted through her letterbox.
Mrs Healey says her gentle son disappeared at the age of 19, replaced by a snarling man who hated everything and everyone.
He returned to her home after a lengthy absence in 2007 and, standing on the doorstep, made a gun gesture with his fingers before threatening to kill her.
‘Why would he do that?’ she asked on the penultimate day of Moat's standoff. ‘It was like he was not my real son.’
‘He now has a totally different character, attitude and manner,’ she added. ‘Every last detail.’
For the most part Moat was regarded as a man with an explosive temper; a muscle-bound bodybuilder addicted to steroids and anti-depressants who could flip at a moment's notice.
Born in 1973 Moat was bought up by his grandmother in Newcastle's deprived West End - just a few doors down from his parents, Josephine and stepfather Brian Healey.
In a bizarre twist to the police stand-off with the killer in Rothbury, which was widely reported at the time, former England footballer Paul Gascoigne showed up to try to talk Moat down.
Speaking in the years following the manhunt, England legend Gascoigne told the Mirror: 'I thought that I could take Raoul Moat fishing because he was near a river. I told the taxi driver 'head for the airport' and then when we got to Newcastle airport I said 'head for Rothbury'.
'The taxi driver said 'you are not going where I think you are going?' And I said 'yes I am'.'
He said he went on to tell the taxi driver that he could 'save Moat' because he had been through so much himself during his struggles with addiction and alcoholism.
When Gascoigne got out of the taxi he said he headed straight for the field where Moat was surrounded by police.
He asked police 'where's Moaty', and one officer asked if he knew him personally, to which Gascoigne denied.
He said rumours then started to circulate as to how he knew Moat with some saying they had been friends.
They had never met, but as the situation around Moat intensified, Gascoigne found himself on TV screens and linked with the chain of events ever since.
Scrivi commento