00:00:04
I like that one because they're all
00:00:06
smart
00:00:08
that's really nice that one
00:00:10
a wedding yeah your best man doesn't he
00:00:14
yeah even my best man
00:00:15
[Music]
00:00:18
I've been promoted yeah I've been from A
00:00:20
Different Page boy
00:00:22
yep so he was he was my best man
00:00:24
did he
00:00:28
said I'll be your best man but I'm not
00:00:30
saying the speech
00:00:33
so the bond of me and Connor had was
00:00:36
really good as fathers and it was
00:00:39
brilliant
00:00:40
I wanted to be a young father so that I
00:00:43
could do these things with kind of climb
00:00:45
trees make bow and arrows
00:00:49
this personality was bright his clothes
00:00:53
Choice were bright
00:00:55
his attitude to life was was bright
00:00:58
[Music]
00:00:59
the last conversation I with Connor or
00:01:01
the last text out of cornered he was
00:01:03
saying can he come around because there
00:01:05
was something wrong with his motorbike
00:01:06
and I've actually got slow got the text
00:01:08
message and he says Dad can I come over
00:01:10
and can we fix my page and everything
00:01:12
and I said yeah come over and we'll have
00:01:14
a look at her
00:01:16
Conor had gone to the Caravan park for
00:01:19
one night with his friend and the boys
00:01:22
were just going to go out into postcode
00:01:24
into town and just sort of have a nice
00:01:28
night
00:01:29
I just said just be careful don't drink
00:01:32
too much
00:01:34
[Music]
00:01:37
never thought that the day where he was
00:01:39
just going out walking he was looking to
00:01:41
you know have a stroll by the beach
00:01:43
would end in such a tragic manner
00:01:46
we actually got woken up by a knock on
00:01:48
the door there was two police did then
00:01:50
they just said
00:01:52
there's been an accident
00:01:55
I can't even remember driving to the
00:01:57
hospital
00:01:58
and just thinking what is it what's
00:02:00
happened what on Earth has happened what
00:02:03
you're faced with was just
00:02:04
the most horrific gruesome
00:02:10
unrecognizable person
00:02:14
it was just
00:02:16
blood and bruises and this red thing
00:02:19
around his head just just keeping him
00:02:21
still and
00:02:23
just a mess a total mess
00:02:26
Ponder was on the bed but
00:02:28
we were told it was Connor but it didn't
00:02:31
look like Connor
00:02:33
some it's total strange to just
00:02:37
picking anything kid like that and just
00:02:40
do what he done to him it's just
00:02:42
unbelievable
00:02:56
[Music]
00:03:08
these are my favorite ones remember that
00:03:11
there's always a small ones they're the
00:03:14
ones that really gets me because he was
00:03:17
my blonde bad boy yeah
00:03:20
this photo here of Connor and his big
00:03:24
boy uniform as he used to call it wasn't
00:03:27
it so his first proper pair of shoes not
00:03:29
trainers and I just remember him being
00:03:33
really sort of feeling like rule in the
00:03:36
school
00:03:37
wearing the school uniform
00:03:39
[Music]
00:03:40
you asked him
00:03:42
he said to me you're going to go again
00:03:44
tomorrow oh no what have you been
00:03:47
to school
00:03:49
yeah on my big ones I say yeah
00:03:56
we always knew that we wanted we you
00:03:59
know we wanted to start a family it was
00:04:01
always going to be on the cards and it
00:04:03
just happened much quicker than than we
00:04:05
both had you know sort of anticipated
00:04:08
but Rich was absolutely ecstatic he was
00:04:11
over the moon as I was being Connor's
00:04:14
Dad it meant everything it really did it
00:04:17
was literally it was like as if you're
00:04:19
complete then
00:04:20
big things that stand out for me with
00:04:22
him was his sense of humor and how
00:04:24
caring he was and then when I had the
00:04:27
other children he was really really
00:04:29
caring and very protective towards them
00:04:34
so they're sort of grinning like
00:04:36
Cheshire cats there they automatically
00:04:39
stood in that order I remember taking a
00:04:41
photograph and they were both the boys
00:04:43
would always then fuss with Georgia make
00:04:46
sure that Georgia was okay he wouldn't
00:04:48
know George was in the photograph and
00:04:50
but Connor was very much sort of he
00:04:53
would organize them wouldn't he
00:04:55
when I look back I do feel glad they
00:04:58
didn't work all the time I'm glad I made
00:05:00
time for the children we actually had
00:05:02
time together
00:05:04
this is his 18th wasn't it I remember
00:05:07
clearly
00:05:10
um and we were just really proud weren't
00:05:12
we we had the party for a man who didn't
00:05:15
want the first he made sure that the
00:05:17
celebrations went on didn't they do it
00:05:20
soon yeah just a day or two or three or
00:05:22
four
00:05:28
[Music]
00:05:31
like
00:05:32
the eighth of March is my birthday
00:05:36
um
00:05:37
and on that particular day
00:05:40
um
00:05:41
it was just a normal busy day Jack had
00:05:44
rugby Georgia had gymnastics so it was
00:05:47
one of those usual Here There and
00:05:49
Everywhere taxi in days and Connor had
00:05:52
come over to say that he was going on
00:05:54
holiday and I was really sort of oh
00:05:56
right okay
00:05:58
so I'm going on holiday I'm going to
00:06:00
pause call and he was really excited and
00:06:02
a post call is probably 40 minutes by
00:06:05
car from us but to Connor it was a real
00:06:08
big you know he was going to the end of
00:06:10
the Earth because it was something that
00:06:11
he decided to do
00:06:14
is sort of seaside resort where families
00:06:18
go to have holidays it's a very sort of
00:06:20
small town sort of people go there to
00:06:22
have a good time
00:06:24
he told me that it was all planned he
00:06:26
was going and they were going to go down
00:06:28
and just spend the night with his friend
00:06:30
in postcall and that was that
00:06:33
so I still all right then and you know
00:06:35
sort of joked and I said look when you
00:06:37
come back tomorrow we'll have Sunday
00:06:39
lunch which is Connor's favorite so that
00:06:43
was sort of
00:06:44
foregone kit yet we'll see you tomorrow
00:06:46
that was that
00:06:50
I kind of had gone to stay at Taco Bell
00:06:53
Caravan park with two of his friends it
00:06:56
was the first sort of holiday he had
00:06:58
been on without his parents so while at
00:07:01
the Caravan Park he and his friends
00:07:03
attended the on-site bar I had a few
00:07:07
drinks
00:07:08
throughout the evening I got taxes from
00:07:11
him updating where they were where they
00:07:14
were going I think we went to Port
00:07:16
called Town Center where they went to
00:07:18
the sports bar and was seen there until
00:07:21
quite late in in the night the three of
00:07:24
them then made their way back to choco
00:07:26
Bay Caravan Park site I had the the
00:07:30
nightly tax which is north star kariti
00:07:34
which is good night I love you but it
00:07:36
didn't arrive that night and it arrived
00:07:39
every single night without fail
00:07:44
I just remember waking up at 7 22.
00:07:48
it's a big bang on the door
00:07:51
lady went downstairs to see where it was
00:07:53
I looked out the bedroom window and seen
00:07:57
there was a police car there so I jumped
00:08:00
out about ran down the stairs and I said
00:08:02
I'll get it I'll get it but um making by
00:08:05
then she started to open the door
00:08:08
there was two police officers
00:08:11
might have been two it might have been
00:08:12
three stood there
00:08:14
um and Rich came down the stairs at the
00:08:16
same time and they both said are you
00:08:19
parents of Connor Marshall and obviously
00:08:22
yes so we invited them in and they were
00:08:25
sort of like ushering us into the into
00:08:27
our living room so we went in and they
00:08:30
just said that they were really sorry
00:08:32
um but they'd been an incident and
00:08:35
Connor was very very poorly
00:08:40
it was like as if everything was in slow
00:08:42
motion and it was just you know just
00:08:45
thousands of thoughts going through your
00:08:47
head what happened
00:08:50
um trying to get questions or answers
00:08:52
off the police and that was it I think
00:08:54
they were just told just going to tell
00:08:56
the family they've got to come into
00:08:57
hospital and that was it because they
00:08:59
knew nothing
00:09:01
commoners discovered underneath a
00:09:03
caravan by a dog walker who just
00:09:06
happened to stumble across him
00:09:08
he had serious head injuries which had
00:09:11
rendered him unconscious he was taken to
00:09:13
the University Hospital of Wales in
00:09:16
Cardiff
00:09:20
drove to the hospital I can't remember
00:09:22
driving there but
00:09:24
we pulled into the car park
00:09:27
and I said well that's the emergency
00:09:28
exit there I said so we parked as close
00:09:31
as we possibly could I can remember
00:09:33
running across the road and the doors
00:09:36
were closed and we were banging on the
00:09:38
door
00:09:40
and then the next thing I know is that
00:09:42
we were in like a side room and they
00:09:44
were in there and I remember Richard
00:09:45
saying why can't we see him why can't we
00:09:47
see him
00:09:49
[Music]
00:09:56
tracker Bay Caravan Park is known for
00:10:00
being a family-friendly place where
00:10:02
people go to have holidays and have a
00:10:03
good time
00:10:04
so this was sort of the last thing you
00:10:06
would expect
00:10:08
it was just horrible and strange to
00:10:10
think that
00:10:12
something's wrong with him and we
00:10:13
couldn't see him you know never in a
00:10:17
million years did we think that it was
00:10:19
as bad as it was
00:10:21
but um they're trying to keep us in this
00:10:24
room and I walked out to the room then
00:10:27
and I'd seen this trolley coming towards
00:10:29
me
00:10:30
and as I looked at the trolley I was
00:10:32
just like oh God God what's happened
00:10:34
there and as a trolley don't need it I
00:10:38
realized it was Connor
00:10:40
all I could see was just a person a body
00:10:43
in on the bed and Rich was like
00:10:48
like these doors and again they wouldn't
00:10:50
let us through
00:10:51
I'm just thinking what is it what's
00:10:53
happened what on Earth has happened just
00:10:55
being really frightened in this feeling
00:10:58
in the pit of your stomach of
00:11:00
fear
00:11:03
[Music]
00:11:09
I first heard about the attack on Connor
00:11:11
when southwest police issued a press
00:11:14
release saying that Conor had been
00:11:16
attacked that the person who had
00:11:19
um who they believed to be responsible
00:11:21
for the attack was still at large and
00:11:23
they were appealing from information
00:11:24
from Witnesses and for people to get in
00:11:27
contact who might be able to help with
00:11:28
the investigation
00:11:30
the last conversation I had with Connor
00:11:33
was was literally just about enjoying
00:11:35
himself and just staying safe be careful
00:11:39
the usual things that parents would say
00:11:42
he was just like we're going down there
00:11:44
we're staying in the Caravan with his
00:11:47
best mate his sister and the baby and
00:11:49
everything they're gonna just go out in
00:11:51
the night go into the town have a couple
00:11:53
of drinks and then and that was it
00:11:57
we know now from Connor's friend they
00:11:59
went back to the Caravan and the baby
00:12:02
that was there was crying
00:12:05
and Connor didn't like the crying he
00:12:07
just and that was Connor he was sort of
00:12:09
sensitive and he said to the friend oh
00:12:12
I'm going to just go out for a walk
00:12:13
while they try and settle the baby and
00:12:16
that was that that's what Connor did
00:12:19
Connor was found some hours later by
00:12:23
some people that were staying at the
00:12:24
Caravan site lying unconscious under a
00:12:27
caravan covered in blood and bruises and
00:12:30
he was taken to hospital
00:12:35
they opened the doors then and they said
00:12:37
right you can you know and we just
00:12:40
walked in and
00:12:42
just the state of Conor it was just it
00:12:45
didn't look like honor
00:12:49
I just remember this huge wound on his
00:12:52
eye
00:12:53
and lots of blood and lots of doctors
00:12:56
and and sayings and beeping and police
00:12:59
and
00:13:01
just
00:13:02
being in a situation that was completely
00:13:06
alien
00:13:09
I remember saying to the doctor what
00:13:11
about his eye what about his eyes you
00:13:12
know you need to do something you need
00:13:14
to do something can the doctor very
00:13:15
calmly just took my hand and he just
00:13:17
said
00:13:18
mum we will sort the eye out but that's
00:13:21
not the the priority at the moment
00:13:25
and that's when things really started
00:13:27
hitting you and then
00:13:29
you know what do you mean well fixing
00:13:31
them you know he's he's in he's in here
00:13:34
and everything we can get him warmed up
00:13:37
they can't warm him up for some reason
00:13:38
it was he was just cold
00:13:40
and again you get you're getting like
00:13:42
Snippets of information and you're
00:13:44
trying to sort of work it out and like
00:13:46
what you mean he was cold
00:13:51
[Music]
00:13:55
when Connor was found he had internal
00:13:58
injuries he was in a coma he was
00:14:01
suffering from hypothermia he had brain
00:14:04
swelling he even had hemorrhages in his
00:14:06
eyes
00:14:10
they explained that Conor had been found
00:14:12
naked
00:14:15
and that his clothes were on Caravan
00:14:18
next door
00:14:19
so again it was just like
00:14:23
you know why and I remember asking them
00:14:25
you know was it
00:14:27
was it a sexual attack was it you know
00:14:30
was that the motivation
00:14:32
and they didn't give us a straight
00:14:34
answer at that time they just said they
00:14:36
didn't think so
00:14:38
[Music]
00:14:40
it was just a random violent
00:14:43
animalistic
00:14:45
attack
00:14:46
[Music]
00:14:54
state that Connor was in when he was
00:14:56
found beaten so bad that even his father
00:14:59
said it was difficult to recognize him
00:15:01
you know naked I left alone freezing to
00:15:04
death on top of all the injuries is
00:15:06
sustained this is just so difficult for
00:15:09
anyone to imagine and it really
00:15:10
motivated police not only to find this
00:15:13
person immediately but also to make sure
00:15:15
this wasn't something that was going to
00:15:17
be ongoing it could happen to someone
00:15:19
else soon
00:15:21
you wouldn't necessarily know what
00:15:23
weapons were used in order to attack
00:15:25
Conor so you would be keeping an open
00:15:28
mind in respect of what you're looking
00:15:29
for as they were searching the area of
00:15:32
the Caravans where Connor had been found
00:15:35
they discovered a metal pole underneath
00:15:37
a caravan
00:15:38
when this was examined it was found to
00:15:40
have traces of Connor's blood on it and
00:15:43
perhaps the most crucial piece of
00:15:44
evidence they found was a fingerprint
00:15:47
so that would be one of the crucial
00:15:49
lines of inquiry in that investigation
00:15:51
to Fast Track the DNA to see if a
00:15:54
perpetrator could be identified at the
00:15:57
very early stages of that investigation
00:16:09
I think it unfolded a lot over the 4D
00:16:12
who were in The hostel but obviously we
00:16:14
wouldn't take any notice of it
00:16:17
I remember the nurse saying you know he
00:16:19
was in a in a coma but that he may be
00:16:22
able to hear so it's really important
00:16:24
that you keep talking to him and and
00:16:27
that's what we did
00:16:30
hour by hour
00:16:31
[Music]
00:16:33
some of the swelling had gone down some
00:16:35
of the bruising had gone down so to us
00:16:39
he looked like he was getting better
00:16:42
we were in this aside room at one point
00:16:45
and then a nurse two nurses came in
00:16:50
sat and introduced herself and she said
00:16:53
that she was the organ donor
00:16:56
coordinating nurse or something
00:16:59
when they first come in the room
00:17:02
and they said where from organ donation
00:17:04
the first thought went through my head
00:17:06
was they were going to give Connor
00:17:09
organs they were going to give commas
00:17:11
and think
00:17:12
but then as soon as they said that
00:17:14
economy was on the organ donation
00:17:17
about using his organs that was when it
00:17:20
was like
00:17:21
what
00:17:25
and it was disbelief we weren't prepared
00:17:28
to even try to understand because to
00:17:32
agree to organ donation
00:17:34
was to agree to to stop any medical
00:17:39
intervention
00:17:42
and then they they told us about
00:17:44
the actual process that was happening in
00:17:46
Connor's neck or head and that was why
00:17:49
he was swirling was because of the brain
00:17:52
injury was so significant that the
00:17:54
actual brain was being pushed down the
00:17:58
spinal column I was down the spinal cord
00:18:01
and that once that happened then it's
00:18:04
irreversible
00:18:06
said everything we literally I said to
00:18:08
him look if they said that he had a
00:18:11
ruptured something and we'll take mine
00:18:13
off me then
00:18:15
you know just you know I said I'm older
00:18:17
I said I've had my life
00:18:19
I said you need something to make him
00:18:22
better take it if I gotta go I gotta go
00:18:25
and that's it
00:18:28
Connor was 18 years old so
00:18:38
[Music]
00:18:42
the doctors were very clear that
00:18:44
everything every intervention had been
00:18:48
used was being used but that brain scans
00:18:52
and all the evidence was showing that
00:18:55
there was no
00:18:57
and I remember the words sustainable
00:19:00
life
00:19:02
possible
00:19:04
[Music]
00:19:07
it was quite shocking that
00:19:09
a young man of 18 years old had gone out
00:19:11
just to have a good time with his
00:19:12
friends
00:19:13
and ended up in a critical condition in
00:19:16
hospital I felt absolutely terrible for
00:19:18
his parents and his family for what they
00:19:20
were going through and obviously trying
00:19:23
to find out what had happened at the in
00:19:25
the early stages
00:19:30
saying it's an incident to dunking into
00:19:32
it
00:19:33
snowballed from there then
00:19:41
I described Connor he was handsome he
00:19:44
was good looking he was very polite I
00:19:47
mean he literally stopped and opened the
00:19:50
door for somebody and things like that
00:19:51
which
00:19:52
you do you look back and you just you
00:19:54
smile about it because you think you
00:19:56
know you think oh that's when all the
00:19:58
people and they go oh thank you very
00:19:59
much you know and you just think oh I
00:20:02
brought him up well
00:20:08
when you are dealing with an
00:20:10
investigation
00:20:12
that at that particular time is an
00:20:14
attempted murder
00:20:16
you hope with all your heart that this
00:20:19
young man 18 years of age in his prime
00:20:24
you hope that he will survive and then
00:20:27
you deal with Memphis the family who
00:20:30
also would be completely traumatized
00:20:34
I remember climbing up on the bed with
00:20:36
him and just
00:20:38
snuggling in and crutching with him but
00:20:40
he wasn't able to do that it was rich
00:20:43
had to put his arm around me Conor's arm
00:20:46
around me and
00:20:48
the kids did the same and it was just
00:20:51
it was brutal
00:20:55
as a dad I'd let him down
00:20:58
because I wasn't there to protect him
00:21:00
[Music]
00:21:02
seen him in that state
00:21:04
[Music]
00:21:08
just that I should have been there
00:21:13
[Music]
00:21:15
I know I couldn't have been there but
00:21:18
everybody says oh yeah because you
00:21:20
couldn't have done anything but that's
00:21:21
not the point
00:21:22
he's my son and I'm there I'm supposed
00:21:24
to protect him
00:21:30
Connor was asleep
00:21:31
he you know he
00:21:34
he was very it was very peaceful it was
00:21:36
harrowing it was
00:21:40
just the hardest thing to do
00:21:46
it became apparent that he had suffered
00:21:48
brain swelling as a result of the head
00:21:50
injuries he had sustained and as a
00:21:52
result of that he he died
00:21:54
[Music]
00:22:00
and I remember being in the hospital
00:22:02
and then having having spent four days
00:22:05
there and then finally leaving
00:22:08
four of us leaving after we talked to
00:22:11
say goodbye to Connor
00:22:15
I don't even know how Richard did it but
00:22:16
he drove us all home
00:22:18
we got home
00:22:21
and we just all went into the living
00:22:22
room and we just crashed all of us
00:22:26
good
00:22:30
you're dealing with the family you're
00:22:33
dealing with the investigation that is
00:22:34
unfolding in front of you and there are
00:22:37
a whole host of questions that were
00:22:39
asked the family wanted to know who did
00:22:42
this why did this happen What part did
00:22:46
their son actually play in this attack
00:22:49
on him
00:22:51
was he involved in an altercation they
00:22:54
would have a whole number of questions
00:22:56
that were rumbling through their minds
00:22:59
because they want to know what's
00:23:00
happened
00:23:02
I can remember the the detective coming
00:23:04
in I don't know at what point and
00:23:07
telling us that
00:23:10
um the investigation was really like
00:23:11
ramping up and that they had an idea of
00:23:14
a suspect who they wanted to speak to
00:23:18
in the elite stages of the investigation
00:23:19
we were told that police wanted to speak
00:23:21
to a man who had driven from the Caravan
00:23:25
site had gotten a train at caerphilly
00:23:28
train station
00:23:29
had then gone to Cardiff Central Railway
00:23:33
Station before making their way to the
00:23:34
north of England
00:23:36
that was when they told us that this
00:23:39
person
00:23:41
that they were pretty sure was was
00:23:45
involved was was
00:23:47
person that hurt Connor had disappeared
00:23:51
he'd gone to grind
00:23:55
and it was just this name that came up
00:23:57
this David Braden and I never heard of
00:24:01
it
00:24:02
and it was you know that name then that
00:24:06
is
00:24:08
rotten inside you then
00:24:12
so police
00:24:15
first stumbled across the name David
00:24:16
Bradham after finding the fingerprint on
00:24:19
the metal pole that was found in the
00:24:21
scene of Connor's murder Bradham was
00:24:23
previously known to police and his
00:24:25
details were in the police system so
00:24:28
when they put their fingerprint through
00:24:29
the system they then discovered that it
00:24:32
was braddon
00:24:33
as soon as David Braden was identified
00:24:37
as being involved in the attack on
00:24:40
Connor police officers would have taken
00:24:43
a series of actions so first of all they
00:24:46
would have circulated him as wanted but
00:24:49
also they would take steps to locate him
00:24:52
via his mobile phone and it was a mobile
00:24:54
phone that actually located David Braden
00:24:59
they told us of the operation that that
00:25:02
he'd gone to Scotland
00:25:04
um
00:25:05
and basically they knew who he was and
00:25:09
they knew where he was he was found
00:25:11
hiding behind a sofa at a relative's
00:25:15
house and when the officers made the
00:25:19
initial arrest he said something along
00:25:21
the lines of am I being arrested for
00:25:23
suspicion of murder and is the boy dead
00:25:28
when they first were interrogating him
00:25:31
he wouldn't say anything and this is not
00:25:34
uncommon for the first round of
00:25:36
interviews that police experience
00:25:39
and the likelihood is he made no comment
00:25:41
because he probably felt at that time
00:25:44
that he had a good chance of not being
00:25:48
convicted of the murder
00:25:51
in four days we'd been left with nothing
00:25:55
a whole massive crater in our lives
00:26:01
um not very much to fill it with
00:26:05
because David Braden being the coward
00:26:08
that he was refused to help and was not
00:26:11
giving any reasons or answers as to why
00:26:14
he did it
00:26:15
it's just a big mess
00:26:18
and a huge
00:26:20
as it said a huge crater that's just
00:26:22
completely obliterated my heart my
00:26:26
family my life
00:26:29
anything that I know
00:26:33
that being said police also knew they
00:26:36
had a lot of forensic evidence and other
00:26:39
types of evidence that ultimately they
00:26:41
felt pretty confident would secure a
00:26:43
conviction if they had to go to trial
00:26:45
the Caravan site did have CCTV around
00:26:48
the area it showed Connor there a young
00:26:52
18 year old vibrant young man enjoying
00:26:54
his evening with his friends
00:26:58
amazingly and coincidentally both Braden
00:27:02
and Connor were in the same environment
00:27:04
in the same bar Connor was sat there
00:27:06
literally feet away enjoying his evening
00:27:09
not knowing that that was going to be
00:27:12
the last night he would ever ever spend
00:27:14
with his friends having made their way
00:27:16
back to tracker Bay Caravan Park Connors
00:27:19
put up from his friends at around 1am he
00:27:21
wanted to go and walk along the
00:27:23
coastline
00:27:24
he was then seen later that evening
00:27:27
around 2 to 2 30 in the morning perhaps
00:27:30
the most
00:27:31
it was the last footage in which Conor
00:27:34
was conscious and her life
00:27:39
when Braden was initially interviewed by
00:27:42
police officers he made no comment but
00:27:46
he changed his mind and then he did
00:27:49
begin to answer questions when the
00:27:52
evidence started to unfold in front of
00:27:54
him
00:27:55
the metal pole that was found nearby the
00:27:58
clothes that were discarded from Connor
00:28:00
and obviously the forensic information
00:28:02
on that poll including Brad's
00:28:05
fingerprint
00:28:07
he would have to give an account to the
00:28:10
police officers as to why his blood was
00:28:14
found on the weapon that was used to
00:28:17
assort Connor Marshall
00:28:19
[Music]
00:28:20
and then they were also telling us the
00:28:23
reasons why
00:28:25
was there was two he was there allegedly
00:28:29
to rekindle his relationship with the
00:28:33
mother of his children
00:28:36
and that was why they were in the camp
00:28:39
it was while at the Caravan Park that he
00:28:41
discovered that his girlfriend had been
00:28:43
sending messages to her ex-boyfriend who
00:28:45
was coincidentally also staying at the
00:28:47
Caravan Park this sent him into a rage
00:28:54
braddon had taken a [ __ ] a cocktail of
00:28:56
alcohol and drugs he'd taken cocaine and
00:28:59
50 Valiant tablets I mean that is a
00:29:01
ridiculous amount and what can happen in
00:29:04
some people who are prone to violence
00:29:05
who are you know naturally quite
00:29:07
impulsive and aggressive it can
00:29:09
disinhibit them
00:29:11
David Braden wasn't an individual that
00:29:14
had serious issues around jealousy
00:29:17
couldn't control his own temper couldn't
00:29:19
control his own behaviors was jealous of
00:29:22
the fact that they'd been an exchange of
00:29:25
text messages between
00:29:27
his exchanged partner and her ex-partner
00:29:32
and so then braddon decides that he's
00:29:34
going to take matters into his own hand
00:29:35
and he grabbed a kitchen life and he
00:29:38
went out onto the Caravan Park looking
00:29:40
for this man
00:29:42
he's in the state where he's looking for
00:29:43
a fight so it's not surprising that when
00:29:46
he sees Conor he almost convinces
00:29:48
himself that this is the man this is the
00:29:50
target
00:29:51
he was walking ahead at me
00:29:57
if he just turned wrong he was like no
00:29:59
one else about it was Darkness yeah
00:30:02
sort of seeing but I've started I
00:30:04
wouldn't Sweden her
00:30:06
he started swearing backs of assumed it
00:30:09
was in and he started fighting
00:30:12
I just got out of control
00:30:16
he said that they'd gotten into an
00:30:18
altercation and that Connor threw the
00:30:19
first punch so by this point he's
00:30:23
building up a picture to suggest that
00:30:26
Conor was actually the person that was a
00:30:28
perpetrator and that an altercation had
00:30:31
taken place
00:30:33
Connor won the fighter he was literally
00:30:36
he used to think he was tough but he
00:30:39
wasn't he was a big teddy bear he was
00:30:41
literally he would shy away from a fight
00:30:43
straight away
00:30:45
young Connor was attacked so ferociously
00:30:48
he was knocked to the ground he was
00:30:50
beaten about the face about the chest
00:30:52
about the head how many times have you
00:30:56
did
00:31:02
five
00:31:03
foreign
00:31:14
the fact that Connor was defenseless was
00:31:17
so badly injured but he took it upon
00:31:19
himself to strip this young man naked
00:31:22
and throw his clothing to one side is an
00:31:26
indication of the type of individual
00:31:28
that he is the level of violence that he
00:31:30
inflicted shows a level of depth of
00:31:33
anger the Red Mist and the violence that
00:31:38
was within this individual and I don't
00:31:40
think that anybody could have predicted
00:31:42
that
00:31:46
it was then that he claimed he Sean hit
00:31:49
the torch in Conor's face and realized
00:31:51
it was not the person he'd intended to
00:31:52
tuck and then fled the scene in in fear
00:31:56
for the consequences
00:31:58
started speaking
00:32:03
before we get up
00:32:05
no Partners went
00:32:10
I didn't mean to kill it Braden's main
00:32:13
defense was basically mistaken identity
00:32:17
that he brutally murdered the wrong
00:32:19
person but when you think about this
00:32:21
that is equally horrific this other man
00:32:25
had done nothing to him as well and yet
00:32:27
he was supposedly going to be brutally
00:32:30
murdered because he had been exchanging
00:32:32
text messages with Braden's girlfriend
00:32:34
and there's no justification
00:32:39
knowing what what we knew then from the
00:32:42
police that it was an unprovoked attack
00:32:46
for no reason
00:32:48
it's just
00:32:50
mind-blowing how you can comprehend and
00:32:53
understand it
00:32:55
[Music]
00:33:07
somehow or another in all of the the
00:33:10
chaos we we managed to organ you know to
00:33:12
arrange a funeral
00:33:14
that was just
00:33:17
lovely in all its
00:33:20
horrible reasoning for being there
00:33:25
we went into it
00:33:27
local florist
00:33:29
uh not far from us and she got this book
00:33:32
from under the counter opened the book
00:33:34
and there was a coffin with all flowers
00:33:37
on top of it
00:33:39
and I walked out at that stage and said
00:33:43
the brown coffin horrible Brown coughing
00:33:45
brass angles
00:33:47
and I said
00:33:49
he's 18 years old I'm not no no that's
00:33:53
that's not right
00:33:53
[Music]
00:33:56
Richard was absolutely amazing he got
00:33:59
this beautiful
00:34:01
coffin full of pictures of Connor
00:34:03
because Connor was the star of the show
00:34:06
it was all about Conor and we wanted
00:34:09
Connor to be
00:34:11
the center of that as he was to us
00:34:16
when you go to a funeral
00:34:18
the coughing comes down and you stood
00:34:20
down and you look at the coffin and then
00:34:23
you look away
00:34:24
because there's a coffin
00:34:26
whereas
00:34:28
this was Connor's and when people looked
00:34:31
at that coffin
00:34:33
they took another look at the coffin
00:34:34
because it was different it was pictures
00:34:36
of Connor all over the coffin
00:34:42
[Music]
00:34:45
took on his death was
00:34:48
again just surreal we just put one foot
00:34:51
in front of the other it was our new
00:34:53
normal that we had to
00:34:55
to do and we we just
00:34:58
sort of waded through it
00:35:01
given all of the evidence that police
00:35:04
had suggesting that Braden was in fact
00:35:06
the killer it was infuriating for the
00:35:09
family for the community and for law
00:35:11
enforcement that he refused to admit
00:35:14
what he had done and then
00:35:17
when we got to the trial here in
00:35:21
there was lots of people there there was
00:35:23
lots of our family lots of his family
00:35:27
his children were there
00:35:29
it was just
00:35:32
horrific and when he finally came up
00:35:34
from
00:35:36
under the court he walked up the steps
00:35:39
he didn't look at us and he sat in front
00:35:42
of us and I could see the tattoos on his
00:35:44
neck and on his hands
00:35:49
when I seen him
00:35:52
I could have truly killed him myself
00:35:57
direct it ruined my life
00:36:02
and he really did
00:36:06
I was just shaking completely shaking
00:36:09
couldn't stop shaking and feeling as if
00:36:11
I was going to be sick
00:36:14
David Bradley's a coward that's why he
00:36:16
didn't go to trial
00:36:18
he left here long enough to you know and
00:36:20
at the last minute then he pleaded
00:36:22
guilty
00:36:24
ultimately he ended up changing his plea
00:36:27
to guilty but they seemed very
00:36:29
self-serving it was just to get a
00:36:31
reduced sentence which only further
00:36:33
infuriated the family
00:36:36
at the end of The Plea hearing he was
00:36:41
basically awarded a 25-year tariff but
00:36:45
because he pleaded guilty early in their
00:36:49
opinion he was rewarded with five years
00:36:52
taken off his sentence
00:36:56
they told us life means life
00:36:58
how can life mean 20 years in prison
00:37:01
that's not life
00:37:04
me and my wife are going through a life
00:37:06
sentence
00:37:07
that animal will be out when they walk
00:37:09
in the streets
00:37:11
the judge did his
00:37:14
daddy said
00:37:15
and then he turned Round And basically
00:37:17
said
00:37:18
I said to you know take him away
00:37:22
and as he turned around he looked
00:37:24
directly at us we were sat up in the
00:37:26
balcony and he looked up at us and gave
00:37:28
us a thumbs up
00:37:30
and that was
00:37:34
just absolutely crushing
00:37:38
that there was such disrespect
00:37:42
and
00:37:43
No Remorse he wasn't remorseful he was
00:37:48
taunt in US
00:37:50
[Music]
00:37:52
he may have pled guilty to the crime
00:37:54
however
00:37:57
the fact is
00:37:59
he hasn't shown any remorse and I think
00:38:01
that's the last disgraceful despicable
00:38:03
Act of a coward
00:38:05
[Music]
00:38:09
I know I struggle really hard with and
00:38:12
I've said it too loads of times haven't
00:38:14
either I struggle with trying to
00:38:16
remember Connor's voice
00:38:18
and I so desperately don't want to
00:38:20
forget
00:38:22
and I find that really difficult
00:38:25
that if I'm honest with myself
00:38:28
I think no I can't remember it
00:38:31
but I've really got a struggle
00:38:34
and push and try and that's the only the
00:38:37
only words I can ever remember him is
00:38:39
just ma'am
00:38:42
and then that makes me angry that
00:38:44
somebody took that away from me
00:38:46
[Music]
00:38:51
the longer it goes on the more you miss
00:38:54
him
00:38:55
and he's not going to come back to the
00:38:57
door
00:38:58
you just
00:39:00
where there is prey whether it's wish
00:39:02
and just that it was all a big mistake
00:39:07
and then in August
00:39:09
A letter came to us as parents of Conor
00:39:12
Marshall and it simply it was just a
00:39:15
general letter saying hello hi my name
00:39:20
is search and search I'm the probation
00:39:23
liaison officer appointed by the service
00:39:27
because you may or may not know that
00:39:31
David Braden was already being managed
00:39:35
by the probation service
00:39:38
and I said so they're saying
00:39:40
that they knew who David Bradham was
00:39:44
I don't get that
00:39:47
I thought that was it it just again it
00:39:49
just turned the world upside down again
00:39:51
it was just like why won't we told any
00:39:54
of this
00:39:55
why one always brought up before he went
00:39:57
to trial
00:39:58
at the time of the attack radin was
00:40:00
already under supervision for drug
00:40:02
offenses for attacking a police officer
00:40:05
plus he had this previous conviction of
00:40:07
battery in 2009 so there's a patent here
00:40:11
we're seeing the picture of a man who is
00:40:14
callous he's impulsive he's aggressive
00:40:16
he's violent
00:40:19
and then so eventually it became clear
00:40:23
that David Braden was should have been
00:40:25
monitored and that he had conditions and
00:40:30
those conditions were that he had you
00:40:32
know a curfew or he wasn't allowed to go
00:40:35
different places
00:40:38
even now I think I I I was only
00:40:42
understanding that if you're unlicensed
00:40:44
you're being watched
00:40:47
you're being managed obviously that's
00:40:48
not not the case is it because if he can
00:40:51
go out and you can go into the family
00:40:53
area and do what he's done and obviously
00:40:56
they're not watching him
00:40:58
this is something that shocks Connor's
00:41:00
parents and it was then they campaigned
00:41:03
to make sure there's an inquest into
00:41:05
Connor's death to look into the failures
00:41:07
of what happened
00:41:11
in this particular case the purpose of
00:41:13
the coroner's inquest was to see if the
00:41:16
Probation Services were fit for purpose
00:41:18
were they doing their job
00:41:22
during the inquest into Connor's death
00:41:24
we learned that broaden had missed a
00:41:26
total of eight appointments and
00:41:27
probation
00:41:29
which would have put him in breach
00:41:32
of of that license and perhaps
00:41:35
if things have been monitored more
00:41:37
carefully there would have been a
00:41:38
different outcome
00:41:39
thankfully we got the best results that
00:41:42
we could that we could have got we which
00:41:44
was that
00:41:46
it was agreed that yes there were
00:41:48
systemic
00:41:51
failings there was complete and utter
00:41:55
management disarray and oversight
00:42:00
the coroner did not find a direct link
00:42:02
between the problems with the probation
00:42:04
services and Conor's death but
00:42:06
nevertheless they highlighted some big
00:42:09
areas that needed Improvement
00:42:12
and that's you know that is a voice for
00:42:15
Connor that we demanded that there be
00:42:17
more
00:42:18
transparency and more accountability
00:42:21
but it's not there yet
00:42:26
con had the tattoo on his arm Life Goes
00:42:29
On which had caused
00:42:31
a massive row when he'd had it because
00:42:33
he went and had it without me knowing
00:42:34
and he had this pointless thing written
00:42:36
on his on his thing and I was like why
00:42:39
why you know but he just kind of quite
00:42:42
simply said at the time because it
00:42:43
Desmond life does go on
00:42:48
foreign
00:42:53
[Music]
00:42:58
just to get skim stones and throw stones
00:43:06
and it was it was mum sort of that
00:43:08
suggested wasn't it you know let's have
00:43:11
you know what about a bench
00:43:13
one of the many reasons why I wanted the
00:43:16
bench to be here was because I used to
00:43:19
come here with my mum and dad and even
00:43:21
my nan and grumpy I just remember the
00:43:23
nice things here
00:43:25
because Connor lived it Connor lived it
00:43:27
here so much
00:43:29
this was our happy place
00:43:31
and this is where they used to have fun
00:43:33
all the time you know
00:43:35
the inscription on the bench
00:43:38
it just says it all really doesn't it
00:43:40
it's enough
00:43:43
we have to have his name obviously
00:43:44
Connor Jake Marshall but our number one
00:43:46
son our number one
00:43:48
you know because he was a fit number one
00:43:50
wouldn't he your number one Sunny was
00:43:52
our firstborn
00:43:54
and then he's missed every day
00:43:57
and then Life Goes On which is that
00:43:58
motto that as a family we all literally
00:44:02
stick to it don't we I mean that's his
00:44:04
Mandarin the Life Goes On
00:44:07
you know
00:44:08
unless in a way it's one of those things
00:44:12
that's yeah when we do feel down and we
00:44:14
feel thing then Life Goes On
00:44:25
[Music]
00:44:38
[Music]
00:45:00
thank you
