Police have arrested a man on suspicion of assaulting a homeless person who was sprayed with red paint before he was found dead in a cemetery.
Michael Cash, 32, was covered in paint while sitting outside a Tesco Express in Eston, Middlesbrough, on Sunday, September 9.
Video footage emerged of the attack, where a man is heard saying ‘this is how we deal with beggars on the street’ and ‘he’s not even a beggar’.
The shocking footage was uploaded to Facebook over the weekend but later taken down
Mr Cash (pictured) was spray-painted red by thugs and days later his body was found in Eston Cemetery
Cash was found dead in Eston Cemetery three days later, on Wednesday September 12.
Following a post-mortem examination, police said they are not treating the death as suspicious.
A 33-year-old man has now been arrested this afternoon on suspicion of assault and criminal damage.
He has been released under investigation whilst inquiries continue.
A Just Giving page has been set up to raise money for Michael Cash’s funeral.
Flowers and cards have been left by the wall in Normanby, Middlesbrough, where red paint could still be seen at the spot where the man who was in his 30s used to sit
Vicki Gaffney, 38, who works in Iceland, said: ‘He was involved in a spray painting incident last week, and that was just disgusting.
‘I thought how can someone treat him in that way when he was in such despair?
‘At that point he must have been so down. The paint just covered the only clothes he had. It is just outrageous.
‘Then the next thing I heard was that he had died – I was so sorry.’
The decorator who filmed the spray paint incident said he is in need of police protection after being threatened by furious neighbour.
Aaron Jones told The Sun: ‘I posted the video and I’m sorry for that, and I feel for the lad’s family.
‘But I wasn’t responsible for spraying him with paint – I just came out of the shop and took a video.’
Mr Jones also said the people to blame for Mr Cash’s death were the people who ‘funded his habit.’
The video has since been deleted.
Police have confirmed that the body found in Middlesbrough was that of Michael Cash (pictured)
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