http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/story.jsp?story=622789

      His assailants believed Paul Cooper was a paedophile, so they beat him
to death. But he was innocent, a victim of vigilante violence
      By Ian Herbert, North of England Correspondent
      23 March 2005


      Paul Cooper never found himself short of friends in the area of north
Manchester where he grew up. He was known for his devotion to his dog, Blue,
an interest in cookery and an optimistic outlook, despite a motorcycle crash
that meant he needed a walking stick to get about.

      But a positive contribution to community life counts for little when a
neighbourhood starts feeding on fears of crime and takes the law into its
own hands.

      A murder investigation was under way yesterday after a gang of men
near Mr Cooper's home at Heywood wrongly convinced themselves he was a
paedophile and beat him to death at his flat.

      Detectives were forced to stress Mr Cooper's innocence after being
hampered in their investigation by locals who are unwilling to give evidence
because they believe he was a sex offender.

      Mr Cooper's disability hampered his attempts to defend himself against
the attack, by several young men, which took place at about 11.45pm on
Friday, at his flat in Walton Close, a concrete-clad block of flats near
Heywood town centre.

      He was subjected to a "brutal and prolonged" attack, detectives say,
and was found with serious head injuries in his bathroom. He was pronounced
dead on arrival at Fairfield General Hospital.

      Despite the police's insistence that Mr Cooper, 40, was an entirely
innocent victim of "mistaken identity", the climate of bigotry and vitriol
that contributed to his death was still palpable in Heywood yesterday. "Some
people deserve to be killed," said a drinker at the Starkey Arms pub before
issuing an obscenity about Mr Cooper and his dog.

      Greater Manchester Police have come across the same sentiment as they
have set about solving the crime. "We are trying to dispel the myth that has
developed in the area that Paul was involved in paedophile activities," said
Detective Chief Inspector Jeff Mahon of Greater Manchester Police. "We have
checked our records and there is no trace of anything of that nature.
However, the myth appears to have led to tragic consequences. Paul was a
nice lad who did not deserve to die."

      Mr Cooper's death appears to reflect the nationwide climate of
suspicion and fear being fuelled by growing public concern over crime and
punishment.

      Rising hostility toward minority groups, clamour for tough sentences
against offenders and a sinister desire for retribution are being driven by
an increasingly prevalent right-wing agenda.

      When the murder of Sarah Payne led the News of the World, four years
ago, to publish the names and photographs of 50 people it claimed had
committed child sex offences - tapping into anxiety about paedophiles in our
midst - protesters circulated a list of 20 alleged sex offenders on the
Paulsgrove estate in Portsmouth and proceeded to target them.

      In that climate of suspicion, a female registrar was hounded from her
home in south Wales because neighbours confused "paediatrician" with
"paedophile". A former sea captain from Grimsby, Humberside, who had been
cleared of paedophile offences, was murdered after his details were
published in the local newspaper.

      Mr Cooper's life appears to have been carefree before the vigilantes
began targeting him.

      Old schoolfriends from St Joseph's secondary, around the corner from
his flat, attest to the fact that he was popular. Some say he drank too much
in adulthood but he spent most mornings doing chores for his mother and had
many friends at the Starkey Arms and Navigation pubs in Heywood, where he
drank and was known by many.

      His problems started when his brother was convicted of sexual
offences. It is unclear whether the brother is still serving a sentence but
local people suggest that Paul Cooper became the target of vigilantes some
time ago and was on the receiving end of at least one serious attack.

      A police spokeswoman confirmed last night that Mr Cooper's brother has
been convicted of sexual offences in the past.

      As community rumour and counter-rumour became detached from reality,
many became convinced that Mr Cooper - not his brother - was the offender.
"I used to live in the flat above him and I knew about his brother," said
Paul, an associate. "But others didn't. There might have been confusion
about them.

      "Paul was a good lad. He was liked and didn't deserve this."

      "It wasn't the only attack of its kind," said a man who would only be
known as Stephen, 42, a former schoolfriend of Mr Cooper's. "There's a
halfway house for prisoners at the top of this road and, when word got out
that a paedophile was there, a mob hit that place too."

      Mr Cooper's mother, Patricia, who suffers from a heart condition, said
she could see "no reason" for the attack. "He was an
easygoing, friendly man
whose disability would have made it virtually impossible for him to defend
himself," Mrs Cooper said.

      Police said two men in their twenties from Rochdale, Greater
Manchester, had been arrested on suspicion of murder. One of the suspects,
aged 24, was later released, but the other man, aged 22, was still being
questioned last night.








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