The ITV drama is based on a true story
ITV's new true-crime drama, The Hunt for Raoul Moat, concludes on Tuesday night and tells the story of Britain's biggest manhunt.
In 2010, Raoul Moat was released from prison following a four-month sentence for an assault on a family member. Two days later on 3 July, he shot and wounded his ex-girlfriend, trainee hairdresser Samantha Stobbart, and killed her new boyfriend, karate instructor Christopher Brown.
Samantha, who was 22 at the time, narrowly survived the attack. In an interview with the News of The World, she said: "Raoul just fired and left me fighting for my life on the floor.
"Somehow my arm ended up in front of me as a block, and the doctors have turned around to me and said if my arm wasn't there, then I would have died... it took all the pressure and force from hitting my organs, really."
Moat went on to shoot Police Constable Rathband, permanently blinding him, before going on the run. A week-long hunt for Moat followed the horrific events, ending with a six-hour-long stand-off with the police. In 2012 Rathband took his own life having struggled to cope with his injuries.
Samantha appeared in court during her ex-boyfriend's trial and told the jury that Moat had a "Jekyll and Hyde split personality".
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She previously told police investigators that she was "very worried" and "frightened" about how Moat would react to her new boyfriend when he was released from prison. "I expected he would flip his lid and that there would be trouble; he'd come looking for Chris," she said. "I had told him the relationship was at an end but he would not have it. He would not take no for an answer."
Where is Samantha Stobbart now?
In 2013, Samantha referenced PC Rathband in an interview and said that she had considered taking her own life but decided not to because of her daughter. "I can't imagine how horrible it must be to lose your sight," she told The People. "But I do have an inkling of how he must have felt. I know how low I have felt and there were lots of times when I thought about suicide. I just thought, 'I can't do this any more.'
"But then I've got my little girl, and I would look at her and remember why I had to live. If I had lost my eyesight and couldn't see her, I don't think I'd be here either," she added.
Samantha also revealed that she suffered flashbacks that would wake her up in the night. "All I have to do is shut my eyes and I'm there," she said. "Chris is lying on the grass, dead. And Raoul is outside. He has a dead look in his eyes, like the lights are on but no one is there. That picture of him that night will stay with me forever. I have flashbacks all the time, and they wake me up in the middle of the night."
She went on to reveal that she had moved house three times in two years and was living with her parents over fears of being targeted by Moat's supporters.
Samantha's sister Kelly recently spoke out against the ITV drama. "We're lucky our Sam survived," she told The Mirror. "ITV don't realise the impact this will have on the people involved."
"It still gives me nightmares and I suffer PTSD. I'm so sick of hearing Raoul’s name, and I'm so sick of him being on TV. I hate seeing his face on social media and then having to read all the comments people make about Sam."
She continued: "So many people blame her for what happened on social media and troll her. This is something we can never forget but we would like to move on from it.
"I was only made aware of this latest drama when I was tagged in a post the Evening Chronicle shared about it. My whole family and I all feel that it should be left in the past."
For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
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