Raoul Moat paranoia revealed by best pal

Jul 25 2010 by Richard Fletcher, Sunday Sun

'The man I knew was not a monster'

THE uncle of killer Raoul Moat has spoken out about his nephew’s murderous rampage.

Charlie Alexander said that the man he knew was not the monster who shot three people, killing one of them and maiming another.

The 72-year-old has written a nine-page open letter to the "the victims, their families and others" outlining his thoughts on the tragedy.

Charlie makes it clear that he is in no way trying to make excuses for what his nephew did but expresses his wishes that Moat would have been captured alive to face trial.

He said: "I am in no way defending Raoul by writing this letter. The crimes he committed were terrible and inexcusable.

"An innocent person was killed and a policeman, doing his duty, maimed and disfigured.

"Nothing I can say by way of apology can make amends for what he did and the hurt and sorrow he caused to the families of the innocent victims.

"What I will say is that the reasons for his action may never be discovered and many questions remain unanswered. I only wish that he had been arrested, tried and convicted for his terrible deeds and we may have discovered what caused his breakdown that culminated in that tragic weekend.

"The Raoul Moat that I knew was not the monster that killed and maimed those innocent victims.

"Something caused the change in his personality that changed a fun-loving, quiet child and teenager into a cold-blooded gunman and killer."

After Moat died in Rothbury, tapes emerged which had on them recordings of conversations he had with police officers and social services staff.

Reports have characterised him as a deeply paranoid individual, with a grudge against the authorities.

Mr Alexander says he believes his dealings with various organisations may have contributed to him suffering a breakdown.

He added: "The signs were missed or ignored by the authorities and this combined with the harassment and constantly making promises and then breaking them, hence the Dictaphone when he went to meetings."