The Tragic Murder of Michael Hoolickin | Murdered at First Sight | Forensic Files

yes [Music] it's got the same smell on the other on everyone and so Michael was a lovely lat and he would do
anything to help anybody Michael's future I think would have been a bright one because he was a hard
worker aren't you in good morning and I think he would have settled down and been successful
and yet there was this chance meeting this twist of fate this decision that he took to drink in a pub that he didn't
ordinarily drink in that effectively changed the course of everybody's life and lay down in McDonald's at the side
of me back phone goals June it's been stabbed well I don't watch him well I just I was just
fancy Michael had five stab wounds tragically one to his chest which would prove to be
the one that caused the most damage you'd expect your Mountain dance to go before anyone and to see you soon in
this way you just go what is going on here this is not real we're living in a false Royal day
this isn't really happening so are we not to give me babe but don't stop me baby away from me
his only crime if there ever there was one was doing the right thing to stop someone else from being injured
getting stamped some days ago I think has that really happened to us it really happened to us it well yeah
[Music] thank you foreign [Music] we've got a big family there's myself gas Anthony Christopher
Gary and Michael Michael being the baby the youngest one I think he was born about 25 past 11 in
the morning and pops out a beautiful baby bye that's the one yeah a couple of hours
old yep little Sumo the big ladder on there yeah it was it was a 10 pounder weren't you
it was nearly 10 pound bar [Music] I don't like to think that we've been we've been a family of people look up to
and I really mean that my intros are very popular a lot it was a very likable lad like I say the
community said he he played football he mixed them out with everyone he lived with his Michael but he stayed with
friends as well you know his friends have said oh lesla he was the life and soul of the party or
Michael no matter where we went it was a funny laugh my equally lost he had a great sense of humor
since the clock had come and it come to that window it was a big year in it he'd
go mum what we don't for tea you know oh if me and gas was going so much sweet he'd Go Mama I'm coming you know I've
got Romania now while I'm coming and I'm going to bring Garden out I'm going to bring such back here go on then
a lot of my boys work together because one's a plasterer one's a kitchen fitter and noodles with tails
my other son Christopher taught Michael on as an apprentice to Tyler and it you know it turned out to be quite good at
that [Music] he was tiling my bathroom upstairs and my wife Leslie said to me okay we could do the new bath so I said
there's nothing wrong with the math what you're talking about oh you do so we went out when we come back Michael
had very conveniently I dropped a tail through the bath we tell his mum and says you've got your
new bath now and that was Michael he loved his mother everybody loved it you know it was a
character but he was a nice kid they worked hard and I'm very proud of him Michael come on one day he said it's his
mother first and girlfriend's having a baby [Music] that's a fantastic memory for me because
it was an happy memory and a nappy memory for Michael and he was Soul made up by Michael so made up
Alice was born the 13th of April 2012. okay occasion never forget it bright redhead I was there Min Michael was
there at the hospital with Alice when Alice was being born and we're both there and we're both
crying all that moment to see his face when he was delivered it was amazing okay that lovely son loved him spent a
lot of time with him I think his future was to you know settle down and just get on my life and look after his
son [Music] I've been to work and he came home and he said I'm going out and I went right
that's fine let me know if you're coming on because sometimes they'd stay with his mates
that one decision that Michael talk that day was going to cost him his life and was going to turn
the lives of everyone who knew and loved him completely upside down [Music] at night but I heard all the sirens and
helicopters and I don't think you know I hope my all my lights at all all right because I don't
know whether they've all gone out or what they've done and proper panicking really you know
[Music] on the Friday the 14th of October 2016 just around half past 11. a number of
calls I'm not mistaken were placed through the Emergency Services through to the ambulance service and the police
were dispatched get as quickly as possible to the Friendship him so when officers had arrived there it
was a scene of chaos and didn't disturbance as you can imagine people were very upset
but amidst this there was one young man there being stabbed very seriously we was in the Houston room we're not
going out we was in bed and we got a phone call for a girl who we knew islia I'm an area
no what Michael has been stopped outside the the Friendship Pub where we jumped out back you know we
never moved as quick and I was just trying to kind of I can't really remember what I was thinking or
what I want thinking I just knew I had to get to that hospital because I had to see if I had to make sure he was all
right Michael was clearly losing blood and a lot of blood particularly from his his
chest he he's his chest wound it would have been very difficult for the police to interpret precisely at that stage how
many stab wounds were dealing with [Music] I was like why and we knew something was
seriously wrong but that Journey was it's the worst Journey I've ever had I'm just thinking of it they stabbed him
if they just stabbed him in the armor or I didn't know where where I just didn't
know what we've seen in the hospital was playing all we wanted to do was see Michael we
just wait to see we expected him to be awake [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] at the initial phase prior to the
individual passing away uh was an attempted murder the severity was the highest level really
[Music] Middleton is on the edge of the city of Manchester it's uh it's a small area
which is part of a town called Rochdale and there's quite a high concentration of pubs
[Music] the Friendship Inn is of particular interest because in the previous years
there had been a number of violent incidents there the pub already had a reputation uh being
um about a a dangerous place to go if you weren't a local [Music] in some murder cases of course it's
unknown it's it's a chance encounter or a premeditated encounter and and the police had the work cut out in terms of
determining who that that could be in this particular case because of local rebelism because the people that
actually seen or unfolded before their very eyes we knew almost from the offset um who was responsible likely
responsible for this attack [Music] all police were able to build up a picture from the number of people that were
outside the pub the attacker was a man called Timothy deakin we knew that he had
departed Manchester he'd looked to escape Justice almost from the offset but once we knew who he was we know we
were determined to catch him we not heard of him ever you know when we found out his name never heard of him
who is it [Music] I just I don't know what I was thinking but I weren't I weren't thinking that it was that it
was that critical because they put him in a reduced coma and I didn't know that whether they did sell Rihanna and it had
not gone in I don't know because I can't really I was in a bit of a state to say the
least you know um I don't really know whether they told me or they didn't can't remember to be
fair it was there three days at the hospital we didn't know what was going on we were
watching him and he it was horrible to see a lot he was full of life to him asleep
Gary and Leslie hooligan were in bed middle of the night when they received a phone call that their son had been
stabbed and was in the hospital and they knew that Michael was not a troublemaker
he was a good kid he was smart so you can imagine the fear and panic they had why in the world would he have
been in the situation that he was harmed like this what could have gone wrong and
what was going to happen next you can pull through this he had a big stop in London
you can pull through this and we spent on three days [Music] we knew we knew if anyone's going to
pull to it'd be Michael [Music] I was working for a regional television station and it was a Saturday morning
that morning we had a series of emails from all the regional police forces and one of them came from greater Manchester
police that said that being is stabbing outside of a pub in Middleton um called the Friendship Inn
the police approached us and asked us to put out witness appeals on the evening bulletins for Timothy deakin in a bid
for them to track this person down who'd effectively run away from the scene and
was fleeing Justice this was a Manhunt foreign [Music] wasn't from Middleton Michael didn't
know him at all we know that never heard of him Milan's had never heard of him you know seeing a family
devastated and broken desperate for any glimmer of hope that their loved one could could turn
around despite the medical medical sort of diagnosis here um you know it's really it really
affects you when you see that you can't help with The Human Side get close to to wanting to see Justice
for the hooligan family Timothy deakin was already a number of steps ahead because natural he knew what
he'd done before we even knew he was but sadly at that particular time Michael was in an extremely poorly way
Michael he'd gone out to a place he never went to funny enough he never went in the pond the friendship
there was CCTV at the pub that everyone had been in so that was vital because we're able to build up an understanding
of what's taking place we're able to understand who was wearing what who was stood with whom
how the sequencing had unfolded and and the camera doesn't lie and an argument had broken out between
two drunken groups in the back room that Michael uh had The Misfortune of sitting in to have
his drink the Catalyst for Deacon being called was nothing more than his girlfriend being out with his sister and
his girlfriend believing she overheard a disparaging comment that was made towards her
nothing more than that Deacon had been drinking at the summit which was a pub not far away and one of
the grew had effectively reached out to Tim Deacon and said yes sister's a mess could you come and get a home please
he had been told by his girlfriend that a group of lads had said disparaging things towards her that his sister had
abandoned her that hadn't come outside and left her on her own Deacon came in he went out outside with his drunk
sister to get her a cab to take her home one of the regulars who'd been outside having a cigarette came in to say
there's a bloke outside who's who's battering a woman and Michael being Michael stepped up and went outside and
you can see just from the edge of the CCTV that it is at that point when he steps outside
that Timothy deakin beat dexa and he knocks a spark out and at that point the cab rocks up and he's
dragging her by her hair into the cap Michael was the first to approach Deacon and try and stop him attacking
his own sister and at that point Michael stepped in and effectively said what are you doing you
don't treat women like that and in a very very short space of Time Michael was stabbed five times with the
Loch knife it was crucial that we told the family this as difficult a piece of news as
that might be it was in the poor man his own business having a drink someone shouted out and girls being beat
up outside and Michael he's been brawl that you don't disrespect women you look you're looking and he's been broken that
way victims of something like a stabbing tend to fall into two categories they're
either connected to the criminal underworld like they might have ties with certain gangs and they might get to
fights relatively regularly but on the other hand you have people like Michael who are just at the wrong place at the
wrong time in a context like trying to stand up for somebody else that they don't even know
just a crazy situation it's one that we wish everyone you know we wouldn't have been in at all you know
before you knew it news travel fast told us we know who's done it you know I was more afraid of him sort of escaping
and getting out of the country or something you know because we knew that Milan was in a bad way
but that was all in a room one day [ __ ] it's not working the treatment we're giving him
there's nothing else we couldn't do and I just sat there no normally even with my
please don't see that don't say that don't say that [Music] just turn everything off and it's
pronounced dead is the worst [Music] oh bear with us the most news you could ever be told
believe me losing him was the worst day of my life because you'd always bet your children's
school before you do you know it was horrible and I just remember if we make [Music]
near the tear coming down his cheek and it just took me I done this just to give him a
big hook [Music] oh you can't describe it see you soon asleep in hospital and you can
you can't speak to him because he's not there the parents of Michael hooligan had to
take that horrific decision to switch the life support machine off which instantly moved this from a serious
wounding actual bodily harm into a whole different category this was now a murder
Michael's homicide had a full investigative team that were going to work around the clock
and do everything they possibly could catch Michael's killer [Music] and looking at the nature of this
particular crime would give any investigative experience the impression that it had been
committed by a man who was no stranger to violence well I was flying to death I think if
you like to know what goes through your head when you don't realize stupid [Music]
the third wife they don't find him foreign Against Time from the moment we have a
suspect an identify and suspect we know there is a chance that with every passing hour day week that we see a
deterioration of the evidence as well as the deliberate disposal of evidence here you had a violent offender who had
gone on the wrong this was someone who was prepared to use violence and a knife so it was crucial to the police that we
apprehended him as quickly as we possibly could 15th of August 1989. that's an absolute beautiful
picture [Music] really nice [Music] my family means the wheels to me for everything to me so yeah we had it was
you know we had a nice life [Music] all right the week before it happened we was I was
getting ready to go out on a Friday night and I was getting ready in my bedroom and Michael was getting a DNA's
bedroom and I had the radio on and Andy Williams came on singing you're just too good to be true so I'm thinking
at the top of my voice because I think I can sing even though I can and he comes
off the landing doing this dressed in a dead smart blue shirt and jeans [Music] it was just such a sweet memory you know
just just wish I could have more of it just wish I could I just really wish I could just put my
arms around him and just give him a big Club [Music] so please come to our house and tell us
all about this life and they said that he was you know he's a bad lad the man who who killed my son had gone on the
Run and they said he's gone on their own but we will find him [Music] after I done to Michael avoid it more
than ever you know get him off the street please as a result of really detailed police
inquiries and intelligence we tracked Deacon to an address in Liverpool he was possibly surprised that we got to
him so quickly but it was very clear that he knew why we were there and what this was about
on a Wednesday the 19th of October he was arrested on suspicion of Michael's murder
when the founders and told us they'd actually arrested him in Liverpool we were so relieved I believe maybe it was
we were thanking God for this but don't help you right so now because it is just
destroyed my family the devastation the East Coast my family and his friends an Army Family he's
horrific Michael's son who's only four and he didn't know what was going on and unfortunately I had to tell him and it
says you don't see any then again kid anyone all right didn't understand so it says
no God's come down for him and Alice obviously oblivious to the fact that his dad had been killed
but after a while he thought about it he says can we go to the airport we get an
helicopter and then go and see me dead in the sky well we broke down all of us say it was
aim is horrible to it it shows you the way he was thinking [Music] are my bias about the pleasure rubbing
their dad are their life and he's got that taken away from him and that I hate that thought
voice talk to us is done to this family it's tried a lot of things that was going which were positive and which was
perfect it's destroyed our ad Timothy deakin was arrested an address in Liverpool
deacon chose not to say anything to the police he provided what's known as a no common
interview and didn't answer any question that that was presented before him it was a great relief when we eventually
heard from the police that they picked this man up and that he was due to face Justice and
he was going to appear at magistrates Court the next day once we swept the area through our
crimes and examinations and through members of the public that came forth actually were able to recover that knife
and it was so very very important to this investigation not only did we have the weapon that that sadly and
tragically cost Michael his life but from a forensic position we're able to connect that knife with the actual
injuries people saying to us Middleton has gone in mourning over my trip all the shots that's all he was talking
about the death of me son everyone said it the funeral director who's never seen anything like it ever
seen a funeral as big as that the police said he's never seen the church I just absolutely amateur people
foreign unreal again it was full the cemetery you just couldn't believe it but these
things you don't remember them as as clear as what you should do because you can't you
can't take it you know you you're burying your son and it it's just you can't take it in
heartbreaking very very quickly you can start to build a profile of the attacker and and we
were very quickly able to establish who Timothy Deacon was internet searches provided us with
previous criminal history and Court reports [Music] Timothy Deacon received a custodial
sentence from the course in relation to to an offensive group of bodily harm four years eight months he'd been
sentenced to for an unprovoked attack biting a man's ear off in a in another fight in a poll
but when a prisoners reached a certain point in their sentence in the UK Criminal Justice System they are
eligible for release as a result of his license conditions he would be released and would serve a
period of that on what they call license but he would be subject to a series of conditions to manage him in the
community it's basically a contract that an offender must sign that says I will adhere to all these conditions and that
is called a license agreement so daycare was my unlicensed when he was determined to be the suspect in relation
to this crime so um that was that was awful news for the family [Music] to me shouldn't have been out and
it was out the man who done it to my Michael and to me they should have kept him there
should keep him in there for life [Music] with this man Timothy Deacon carrying a
knife that suggests one of a couple of things either he's so confident that his probation officer is not going to find
out or do anything about it or he literally doesn't care about the consequences the police investigation had in my
opinion created an extremely compelling case that he was Michael's murderer um and they committed other offenses too
you can never say never until that trial was concluded the trail is coming up in Bolton on a
certain days he seemed to take forever so it was being one you've got the AV court because you can imagine me songs
were fuming with this guy so it returns up and Tim deakin appears in the back the first time we've seen him
Show No Remorse whatsoever looked at us with an evil an evil face if anything you know pulled his face are
you looking at him and you're going there I can't believe what we're we're seeing it this kid doesn't care you know
Timothy Deacon was charged with murder and he pleaded not guilty Timothy deakin was going to introduce a
defense of self-defense for Michael's family they're not used to these criminal trials they don't know
what tactics the defense team are going to use so they just don't know what to expect we were singing call and
they're trying to game off this is what is unreal to me he's admitted he's killed me son and he's just trying to
get him off he's trying to say but we didn't mean this did you we didn't mean to go there or you didn't and it it was
he was fighting the attempt was made to say that Michael hoolikin was coming at me and that I
found this knife on the floor and that I picked the knife up and in an effort to
defend myself I flailed around with it and accidentally I killed him I mean the streets of Middleton aren't
littered with knives so the idea that somehow he was actually the victim was to be truthful Preposterous really
I was angry but I was more upset because it was muscle you know it really upset me the things I
heard in court Michael was not bullying never picking anyone it protects his mates he protects
his family which is which is normal for me you know that's the way he's been brought up but there's no way picking
anyone so he's not doing this you know as a as a show enough of being cocky he's doing it to protect that lady
foreign the jury have a whole load of evidence that they use to make their minds up
eyewitness police reports forensic reports want utterly crucial piece of evidence
that the trial of Timothy Deacon was the CCTV which had been taken from outside the Friendship Inn
what was caught on camera were the last living moments of Michael hooligan [Music]
you see Timothy Deacon come into shot here we see Tim Deacon inside there and then he's
about to leave the pogbies taking his sister home here you see the argument spills out
into the street oh and he's just slapped his sister so hard that she collapses in the street
he hits her so hard you see a cigarette fly out of her mouth across the street and she
falls to the ground it's at this point just out of view that Michael emerges from the pub
Michael challenged Timothy Deacon when he saw Deacon battering his sister and Deacon stepped up to him
and Michael got the better of him and knocked him to the ground as Deacon came at him
Tim deakin's defense was that um he fell to the ground and that the lock knife was on the floor
that it wasn't taken with him to the scene to sort out any trouble but at some stage here
and I think that's it you see him take something out of his pocket and it changed his hands from one hand to the
other there he is pulling the lock knife out of his pocket Timothy Deacon was just acting in
self-defense one stab would be more than enough that would say stay away from me
you know stand back but that wasn't the case here the fact that he stabbed Michael five times shows this was line
rage this was an anger driven offense not out of self-defense you've heard the evidence in court you
want this to go the right way but you can never call a jury you can never say from being outside of the sanctity of
that jewelry room whether there is somebody within that group who believes that Reasonable Doubt has been sown
[Music] we've been through all this Trail and it just I was like I hope to God they never let him out ever
not while I'm on this Earth anyway or they never let him out this is so difficult for families to
endure and the only thing they keep thinking is to for it to all to be worth it that person has to be found guilty
when you get the knock on the door as the jury Foreman comes back into court and the judge asks have
you reached a verdict and is that verdict unanimous there is a flip even as a journalist that goes in your
stomach the final verdict was that Timothy Deacon was found guilty of murder this was the judge
I was the one who would give you four years last time he said so I'm putting you away for 27 years minimum well you
could see the relief of the police officers everyone in the court you could see the
relief I'd like to say yes it's been given a long time it was only at Timothy deakin's
sentencing that we realized that he breached his license conditions and that he shouldn't have been out at that time
of night oh this is when everything come out it was frightening and I mean this it was
frightening it was unclear for you what was he doing in the pub that night well I did nobody
slack up why I did nothing flag up that he was out in the pub and it was only at the point in
sentencing that part of the truth actually came out that Deacon was a huge risk to the public that he was classed
as a serious and prolific offender that he had a catalog of violent defenses already under his belt that he stood a
huge chance of reoffending and that the probation service hadn't done their job they hadn't been able to keep the public
safe from this violent and promising offender and that is why Michael lost his life
Timothy deakin was only 23 when he got sentenced of course there's an age-old debate when it comes to violence and
criminality nature versus nurture and I think this is a classic example of nurture
he was from a broken home he had not attained an education so his life outcomes were limited
[Music] in the end while those are mitigating factors they do not excuse cold-blooded
murder [Music] 27 years after sales menu people are going to be safe without him
around so that was good news today whatever sentence he was and ultimately was given it genuinely
does pale into comparison when you when you look at what is taken from that family people say time to kneel no it's
not Michael will be missed forever I promise you we always wonder where he is times when you think you'll be in a
minute and you know he's not here these are things that affect you mentally for the rest of your life and not acceptable
he's just feels so angry it really upset me the things I heard in court about the math probation knew what type
of person he was he was a prolific offender you know so why did they just let him slip
through the net we said we need to do something about it we've got to stop this thing happening
where people are getting murdered unnecessary and we need a publicly quietly about all these debts
till later they were aspects of of Michael's murder with questions wrapped around them and in
particular in relation to Deacon being on probationary license a bit near the greater level of exploration so his
Majesty's coroner at the time uh saw that and starts running in quest the really crucial failure that came out
at the inquest was that Timothy deakin had been arrested in another Force after smashing up a car that he'd stolen and
he was in possession of drugs that incident should have resulted in him being charged and immediately being
recalled back to prison that makes me angry very angry and I hope to God they never let him out ever
[Music] the coroner did an incredible job and uncovered a whole series of failings
[Music] we've gone to a better place where no one hears anyone and he's with all his grants and
granddads in there for all his friends that have passed away in the past not really what I'm there though I'd
like him to be back here with us remember oh yeah we can't change that can we record
[Music] I just wish he was here with us Allen to see his own son grow up and what a
lovely lady grown up to be like you know and that upsets me a lot because it should be seeing all the wonderful
things with his son and saying but it's very much like his dad I'm like he's found the figure
and I make sure I'm always there for him [Music] Michael was my baby and I miss him so
much and every night before I go to bed as you can see these pictures everywhere
and I've got one in my kitchen there and stand on the step and I blame a cake and a golf I love you
night God black Michael and I kiss every picture [Music] because I think he needs to know
it's just awful [Music] thank you [Music]

When Michael Hoolickin steps in to defend a woman who is being attacked, the night takes a tragic turn when Michael is brutally slain in the street. Police leave no stone unturned in their investigation to apprehend the senseless killer in hopes to bring justice to Michael’s family. Murdered At First Sight is a true crime documentary series that tells the first-hand stories of the most complex and hard-to-solve homicide cases: murders committed by strangers.

Brief Summary

Michael Hooligan was murdered protecting a woman; his family shares their grief and the story of his attacker Timothy Deakin's trial.

Key points

Michael's Tragic Fate. A chance meeting leads to a life-altering tragedy for Michael and his family.
The Night of the Incident. Michael's decision to go out that night would cost him his life.
The Arrest of Timothy Deakin. Timothy Deakin is arrested in connection with Michael's murder, bringing a sense of relief.
Timothy Deacon's Trial. Timothy Deacon was charged with murder and pleaded not guilty, claiming self-defense.
Verdict Announcement. Timothy Deacon was found guilty of murder, receiving a minimum sentence of 27 years.
The Impact of Michael's Death. Michael's family reflects on the lasting emotional toll of his murder.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

What is going on here? This is not real!

1:29WatchOct 11, 2023

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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