‘Fatty’ gibe sparked brawl that left teen dead

A mass brawl which ultimately claimed the life of young footballer Patrick Cronin was sparked by a gibe about a pub patron’s weight.

Robyn and Matt Cronin will never get over the death of their son Patrick. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

The wild brawl that claimed the life of young footballer Patrick Cronin at a Diamond Creek pub was sparked by a patron being called fat by another man.

Joseph Hitchcock was leaving to catch a cab home when a group of strangers having a cigarette outside the Windy Mile made “derogatory comments about his weight”, on April 16, 2016.

What happened next was the “catalyst for the affray” where 19-year-old Mr Cronin was killed by a coward’s punch from Andrew Lee, who has been jailed for manslaughter.

Footage played to Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court showed how Hitchcock, then 32, turned back and confronted the group of four men when one of them yelled “f--k off you fatty”, about 11pm.

“You can clearly see from that footage there’s a group of males who were mocking and belittling him because of his weight,” defence lawyer Zarah Garde-Wilson said.

She said he turned back to them and “you can clearly see from his body language, his words are effectively, ‘What have I done? … why are you speaking to me like this’?”

The court heard one of the men walked away and told Hitchcock to “f--k off”.

Hitchcock, who was following the man, immediately punched him twice in the head.

A mass brawl of about 30 patrons then ensued, where Hitchcock “continually punched and kicked patrons for about five minutes”.

Mr Cronin could be seen in the footage, stepping in to help a mate who had been punched by Lee, before he suffered the fatal blow from the same man.

Ms Garde-Wilson said the fight “effectively takes a life of its own”, and Hitchcock should “not be punished for the conduct of Andrew Lee”.

Hitchcock, now 37, pleaded guilty to affray and criminal damage for smashing the mobile phone of a witness who was filming the brawl. His co-accused, Luke Sheahan, also 37, pleaded guilty to affray for his role in the fight.

In victim impact statements, Patrick’s parents Matt and Robyn said one of the proudest days of their life – watching their two sons play for Lower Plenty Football Club – became a nightmare.

Joseph Hitchcock was leaving the Diamond Valley pub when he was called “fatty” and a fight broke out.

Hitchcock’s co-accused, Luke Sheahan, also pleaded guilty to affray over the Windy Mile Hotel fight.

A police prosecutor broke down in tears as he read Matt Cronin’s words, that he had to call his other two children to the Royal Melbourne Hospital at 3am where their brother was on life support. Matt Cronin remembered lying in the hospital bed with his youngest son as they waited for his life support to be turned off.

Five and a half years later, “I can’t tell you how many times I get five plates out of the cupboard for dinner”, he said.

Mrs Cronin, who now suffers PTSD, recalled going to pick up her boy at a mate’s house after getting a call from him that night. “I stood in the driveway holding onto him while he was dying,” she said.

“I sat in the gutter while the ambos worked on him for what seemed like hours.”

Mrs Cronin said if those facing court had “acted in the way that Pat did and tried to break up the fight, Pat would never have died”.

“If they had not started the fight and continued to throw punches and kept it going, the result could have been so different.”

Hitchcock and Sheahan will be sentenced on September 20 — four days before what should have been Mr Cronin’s 25th birthday.

Four other men — Simon Buchanan, Aron Burns, Gerrard O’Connor and Wayne McManus — are fighting charges laid over the brawl and will return to court for a three-day contested hearing in June.