Manchester Arena ‘hero’ stole from victims and took photos of the dead
A HOMELESS man hailed a hero in the Manchester Arena terrorist attack has been branded “scum of the earth” after it emerged he stole from victims and took photographs of dead children.
Families condemned Chris Parker as “disgusting” and called for him to be jailed for years after he pleaded guilty to stealing Pauline Healey’s purse as her 14-year-old granddaughter, Sorrell Leczkowski, lay dying.
Parker, 33, had been lauded in the aftermath of the suicide bombing on May 22 after claiming he had rushed to the aid of victims. His apparent heroics prompted an online campaign which raised £52,000 for him, donated by 3,798 people in appreciation of his “selfless” behaviour. The money was not paid to him and will be returned.
CCTV at the scene of the Manchester Arena atrocity caught Parker on camera looting victims amid the carnage.
Footage shown at Manchester Crown Court yesterday but which was too graphic to be made public, showed him rifling through bags and pockets. It also showed him taking photographs of the dead, many of them children, apparently hoping he could sell the images. Parker was seen prodding Mrs Healey to check if she was alive before stealing her purse. Mrs Healey survived despite severe injuries. Parker, from Halifax, West Yorks, later used her bank card at a Mcdonald’s restaurant. He, also stole the iphone of an injured teenage girl, who cannot be identified.
Charlotte Campbell, whose 15-yearold daughter Olivia died, said: “What Parker did was disgusting. To me he is nothing. He is the scum of the earth and as far as I’m concerned he should go to prison for a very long time for what he’s done.” Mrs Campbell, 37, from Bury, added: “What he did could give homeless people a bad name, and I hope that’s not the case. It would be terrible because they are not all the same.”
Michael Johns, 26, a caterer from Nottingham, who launched the fundraising campaign, said he was angry when Parker was first arrested but now felt most sorry for Mrs Healey and her family for the added distress it had caused her. Mr Johns chose not to hand the money over to Parker, a career criminal, at their one and only meeting. “My heart was in the right place,” said Mr Johns, “I still pity Chris to some extent.” Gofundme, the fundraising website used by Mr Johns, said donations would be refunded and donors should make contact if concerned.
Mrs Healey, her granddaughter Sorrell and her mother Samantha Leczkowski had not attended the Ariana Grande concert but went there to meet friends in the foyer when Salman Abedi, 22, detonated the suicide bomb, killing 22 people.
The court heard yesterday that Parker had been on the run for a month after jumping bail, dumping his electronic tag. He was arrested on Tuesday evening and yesterday pleaded guilty to theft and fraud. The judge said Parker would be sentenced on Jan 30.