LOWEST OF THE LOW
He stole from victims after Manchester attack
A HOMELESS man has admitted stealing from Manchester Arena bomb victims as they lay injured. Chris Parker, 33, had been hailed as a hero after talking about going to the aid of those hurt in the blast in May.
The family of a girl who died in the attack have called him “the lowest of the low”.
AS children lay dead or injured after the Manchester Arena terror attack, rough sleeper Chris Parker seized his chance to steal from victims and take photos of them on his phone.
He swiped a severely wounded woman’s purse while she was motionless beside her dying granddaughter.
Images found on Parker’s mobile included a close-up of the gran’s face and a photo of the dead or injured strewn across the floor after the explosion.
He was initially hailed as a hero after saying he had rushed to help the victims. But yesterday he confessed to his crimes.
Charlotte Hodgson, 37, the mum of another girl who was killed, said: “What he did was absolutely disgusting...
“He wandered in obviously to rob people and then he tried to get fame by saying he had tried to help... He should be ashamed.”
Charlotte, from Bury, Greater Manchester, lost her 15-year-old daughter Olivia Campbell in the blast.
The girl’s stepdad Paul Hodgson, 48, called Parker “the lowest of the low”.
SHRAPNEL
Parker, 33, was captured on CCTV footage in the moments after suicide bomber Salman Abedi, 22, detonated his device in the arena’s foyer in May.
While other members of the public helped the badly injured victims, Parker wandered around, his phone to his ear, walking past those in need.
The various clips, which last around 20 minutes, show him constantly leaving and returning to the foyer.
At one point he comforts a little girl. But Parker can also be seen leaning over Pauline Healey, 64, and taking her handbag as she lay near granddaughter Sorrell Leczkowski, 14, who died.
Parker stole Mrs Healey’s purse and later used one of her bank cards in McDonald’s. Mrs Healey, who had 15 hours of surgery to remove shrapnel from her body, and Leeds schoolgirl Sorrell had not attended the Ariana Grande concert that night. They went to the foyer of the venue to meet friends.
Parker also stole the phone of a teenage girl who survived the attack. And he was spotted picking up a coat on a stairwell before shaking it as if to see if there was anything in the pockets. Parker, who was homeless at the time, had denied the thefts and was due to stand trial this week. But he failed to appear in court on Tuesday. Police later found him cowering in the loft of a house in Halifax, West Yorks. At Manchester crown court yesterday he admitted stealing Mrs Healey’s purse and the girl’s iPhone. He also admitted fraudu-
What he did is absolutely disgusting, he tried to get fame saying he tried to help CHARLOTTE HODGSON LOST DAUGHTER OLIVIA, 15, IN BLAST
lently using Mrs Healey’s bank card in McDonald’s. The judge warned him he will “most likely” get a custodial sentence when he is back in court on January 30.
Parker denied trying to use the bank cards on three other occasions and attempting to steal a bag and the contents of a coat. Prosecutors decided not to take those charges to trial.
John Broadley, defending, said: “He’s tendered these pleas and all he can do in the circumstances is first of all plead guilty and apologise for his appalling behaviour that evening.”
Parker has a string of previous convictions, dating from 2000 to February of last year, including the theft of a purse and numerous burglary offences.
Other images found on Parker’s phone showed an injured man being tended to, an apparently unhurt child in a pram, and what appeared to be a nail-shaped piece of shrapnel.
Parker will now miss out on £52,539 in public donations that were given to help get him get off the streets. The GoFundMe appeal was launched after he was praised in the days after the attack in which 22 innocent people died.
Michael Johns, who started the appeal, said last night all the money would be refunded to those who donated.
The founder added that because the
All he can do is first plead guilty and apologise for his appalling behaviour JOHN BROADLEY DEFENDING PARKER IN MANCHESTER CROWN COURT
GoFundMe page was set up for a specific cause, it is not possible to give the cash to a homeless charity or a fund to support those affected by the atrocity.
Shortly after the bombing, Parker’s estranged mum Jessica appealed to be reunited with him after reading about his apparent heroics. Jessica, 57, said she had no idea he was homeless after losing contact with him a few years ago.
She travelled from to Manchester from her home in Norfolk to see him. Ms Parker said later: “He told me matter-offactly what he did and said, ‘Mum, I’ve just done what anybody else would do’.
“I said, ‘I don’t think so, Chris, I think you did something really wonderful’.”
But the awful truth was revealed when police examined the CCTV footage.