More charges laid over wild brawl that killed Patrick Cronin
New charges have been laid over the wild Diamond Creek pub brawl that led to the coward-punch death of Patrick Cronin in 2016.
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Police have laid fresh charges over the wild pub brawl that led to the death of Patrick Cronin.
The 19-year-old was killed after being punched in the head by Andrew Lee after a fight began at the Windy Mile pub in Diamond Creek in 2016.
Patrick was trying to drag his friends to safety and didn’t throw a punch before being hit.
Today seven men, aged between 30 and 36, were charged with affray and summoned to appear at court in May.
It came after the Herald Sun in October revealed police were close to laying new charges.
Lee was jailed for eight years with a five-year minimum, after pleading guilty to a single count of manslaughter, in a deal that meant he avoided a 10-year non-parole period under mandatory one-punch legislation.
Graphic CCTV that captured the fight is believed to be central to the evidence against those expected to be charged.
Witnesses have previously testified that a mass brawl was sparked after comments were yelled at a man about being overweight caused him to go “nuts”.
Patrick had been at the pub quietly celebrating a football match with his brother Lucas and teammates when he was caught up in the brawl.
After being hit he left the pub, returned to a friend’s house and complained of feeling unwell.
He later phoned his mother to pick him up, but when she arrived 10 minutes later he was unable to speak.
He was rushed to hospital, where doctors discovered a skull fracture. He was pronounced dead the following day.
The Windy Mile closed its doors in March, its owners saying it never recovered from the senseless death.
Patrick’s family set up the Pat Cronin Foundation to honour his memory by raising awareness of the harm caused by one-punch assaults.
“Christmas should be a time of celebration for the family and here we are more than three years later, and we still haven’t received closure,” his parents Matt and Robyn said tonight.
“It’s something we live with every day, the loss of Pat.
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“This is why we’ve set up the Pat Cronin Foundation – to educate and make people aware that these acts of cowardly violence should never be tolerated.
“We’re pleased to see charges being laid today. We know we need to wait for the right process to follow, but we look forward to an outcome.”