Police make arrest decade after attack which made man paraplegic
Police have made a murder arrest a decade after an attack made a man paraplegic.
Stuart Coldicott – known as Stewie – died earlier this year after ten years of living with his condition, brought on by a head injury sustained in February 2014 in Colchester, Essex.
Though initially treated as life-threatening, his condition improved and he was later discharged from hospital requiring a high level of complex care.
But following his death in March aged 46 – linked to his head injury – a fresh investigation was launched by police, culminating in the arrest of a 61-year-old man.
Essex Police explained that upon being alerted to Mr Coldicott’s admittance to hospital with a serious head injury in February 2014, an investigation into the attack that led to his injury was launched.
Officers focused their efforts on specific areas of Colchester, where Mr Coldicott lived, and examined many hours of CCTV footage available at the time.
The force established that Mr Coldicott, who was 36 at the time, had been seen by a number of people in the Priory area of Colchester between December 2013 and February 2014 with facial cuts and bruises.
Detectives established he had sustained a head injury on February 11, 2014, and officers suspected this was a result of a serious assault.
But despite a complex and thorough investigation, they were unable to prove his serious head injury was the result of a specific assault carried out by a particular person.
Officers were, however, able to secure evidence of an assault which pre-dated the February 11 incident, for which a man was convicted.
Mr Coldicott’s bereaved family said that their loved one had retained his ‘naughty sense of humour’ throughout the final ten years of his life, which he spent as a paraplegic due to his injuries.
In a statement, his family said: ‘Stewie Coldicott was 46 when he tragically died in March 2024. Stewie was a dearly loved brother, brother-in-law, uncle, great-uncle, son and friend to everyone that knew him.’
They added: ‘Stewie sustained a serious head injury, which resulted in him [becoming] a paraplegic.
‘Although this horrific incident happened to him, he never lost his naughty sense of humour that put a smile on everyone’s faces. Nobody could replace him, and he will always remain in our hearts.
‘All the family members and friends will greatly miss Stewie very much and our mischievous family member is gone from this world but not from our hearts. The family request to be left alone and allowed to grieve at this very difficult time.’
Following Mr Coldicott’s death in March a forensic post-mortem examination found a ‘causal’ link between his head injury in 2014 and his death in March 2024.
As a result, a fresh investigation was launched which led to the arrest of the 61-year-old man on suspicion of murder.
Detective Inspector Lydia George, of the Kent and Essex serious crime directorate, explained that the murder arrest followed new evidence and lines of enquiry.
‘The injuries which Stuart sustained in 2014 had a significant and long-lasting impact on him and of course his family, who continue to live with that impact to this day,’ she said.
‘When Stuart died and a causal link to the head injury was established, we began treating his death as a homicide and our fresh investigation was launched. And as part of that investigation, we have arrested a man on suspicion of murder, and he remains in custody to be questioned.
‘We will also be speaking to a number of people who we’re considering as witnesses to gather additional information and accounts. Since the launch of this new investigation, we have identified a number of new lines of enquiry and new evidence which has ultimately led to the arrest we’ve made.’
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