Painter is charged with assault after homeless man died

A painter and decorator has been charged with assaulting a homeless man who died four days after being humiliatingly sprayed with red paint.

The death of Michael Cash and a photograph of him sitting on the ground covered in paint caused outrage in his home town of Middlesbrough and further afield.

Cleveland Police today said they had charged 33-year-old Aaron Jones with assault and criminal damage following the incident near a Tesco Express.

Mr Cash died on September 12 but his death was not connected with the alleged assault

Aaron Jones (left) has been charged with assault and criminal damage following the incident involving Michael Cash (left) in Middlesbrough earlier this month

A photograph of Mr Cash sitting on the ground covered in paint last month caused outrage

A photograph of Mr Cash sitting on the ground covered in paint last month caused outrage

Jones, who lives near the scene of the alleged attack with his girlfriend, told reporters that he posted the video but at the time he denied spraying Michael.

He will appear before Teesside Magistrates’ Court on October 10.

A police spokesman said: ‘Police have charged a 33-year-old man in connection with an alleged assault which occurred near to Tesco Express on Normanby High Street. The incident was reported to police on Sunday, September 9.

‘Michael Cash, 32, was the victim of the alleged incident and he later sadly died on Wednesday, September 12. His death was not treated as suspicious and is not connected with the alleged incident near to Tesco.

A man has been charged in connection with the alleged spray paint attack on homeless man Michael Cash.  A 33-year-old man will appear at court next month charged with assault and criminal damage.  The charges are in connection with the alleged assault of Mr Cash which happened near to Tesco Express on Normanby High Street.  The incident was reported to police on Sunday, September 9.  A mural of a homeless man has appeared on the rear of a shop in Normanby near to where homeless man Michael Cash was sprayed with paint.

Flowers were left on the street in Middlesbrough in memory of Mr Cash following his death

‘The man has been charged with assault and criminal damage and will appear at Teesside Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, October 10.’

A crowdfunding page was set up to pay for his funeral costs and has now achieved its £1,000 target, with Mr Cash set to be laid to rest later this week.

Mr Cash’s family have revealed he became ‘lost’ after the death of his mother, describing him as a compassionate schoolboy with liked football and Formula 1 and who used to love to sing for his grandmother.

What had been a mostly happy childhood for Mr Cash became a nightmare in his teens when his mother Elaine developed lung cancer.

A mural of a homeless man has appeared on the rear of a shop near where Mr Cash was sat

A mural of a homeless man has appeared on the rear of a shop near where Mr Cash was sat

She and Mr Cash, the youngest of four siblings, lived together and he nursed her until she died 12 years ago aged 51.

The local authority home was in his single mother’s name, which meant that Mr Cash had to fend for himself for the first time and fell into ‘the wrong crowd’ when he was found a flat in Middlesbrough’s deprived Thorntree estate.

Mr Cash was estranged from his father Paul, and without his ‘guiding light’ mother he began experimenting with drugs, turned to heroin and ended up homeless.

His aunt, Lorraine Darling, 63, who is known as ‘Lozzie’ and was his mother’s twin sister, said: ‘He never got over the death of his mother, he was lost without her.’

Mr Cash’s funeral will be held at Kirkleatham Crematorium this Friday at 12pm.

Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk