In the nightmare of the Manchester Arena bombing attack that took place at the end of an Ariana Grande concert in May of 2017, it seemed as if Chris Parker, a 33-year-old homeless man, emerged as a hero. He was believed to have comforted and helped victims after the attack. In fact, the public raised over 50 thousand pounds for Parker via GoFundMe. However, he has recently pled guilty on two counts of theft and one count of fraud.
According to the Guardian, CCTV footage reveals Parker walking around the victims and taking pictures with his phone. The Guardian goes on to explain Parker kicking a purse away from a seriously injured woman before going through it. Pauline Healey, the woman in question, was there with her daughter and granddaughter. Her granddaughter, Sorrel Leczkowski, was only 14 when she died in the attack.
Along with the purse and bank cards inside it, Parker also admitted to stealing a teenage girl’s phone. He was found and brought to court early Wednesday morning. Texts with his mother reveal his intent to avoid going to court.
Extremely depressing to be in court to hear Chris Parker admitting he stole from the Manchester Arena victims he claimed to have helped. He used one woman’s bank card in McDonald’s afterwards. https://t.co/ply7WtIxOy
— Helen Pidd (@helenpidd) January 3, 2018
In court, Parker was accused of eight crimes, but he only pled guilty to the three mentioned above. Louise Brandon, the prosecutor on the case, decided not to pursue the other five charges. BBC reported that prosecutors argued Parker provided “some limited assistance” to the victims, but “equally” took advantage of their position.
As for the defense, the Independent quoted John Broadley as saying “He’s tendered these pleas and all he can do in the circumstances is first of all plead guilty and apologize for his appalling behavior that evening.”
Parker will be sentenced on January 30.