unsolved-murders.co.uk
Unsolved Murders
Tags

Gavin Hopley

Age: 19

Sex: male

Date: 11 Feb 2002

Place: Greengate Street, Glodwick, Oldham

Gavin Hopley was beaten to death. Five Asian men were convicted of violent disorder and a sixth man for theft but no one was convicted of killing him.

One of the Asian men was tried for his murder but he said that he had been at work in an Asian takeaway at the time.

Gavin Hopley had been on a night out with two friends at the time but they had got lost in the Glodwick area whilst looking for a taxi. They encountered a gang of at least twelve Asian men armed with lumps of wood and heavy clubs who chased them and they split up. The Asian men then caught Gavin Hopley and beat him up.

He was kicked in the head by a man that used a fencepost to support a flying kick at him. Gavin Hopley was thrown through the air by the kick and hit his head on the pavement and suffered fatal head injuries. He was also hit with wooden staves.

He died six days after the attack at the North Manchester General Hospital without regaining consciousness.

As he lay on the ground someone then stole his watch and chain.

The attack against him was said to have been racially motivated. After his attack, the police put extra police on patrol in case race riots developed.

Gavin Hopley worked as a security guard at a shopping centre. He had lived in Whitworth.


*map pointers are rough estimates based on known location details as per Place field above.