CCTV footage has been released of the deadly coward punch that saw a 19-year-old killed as his family label the killer a ‘coward.’
The video shows Andrew William Lee, 34, striking Patrick Cronin’s temple despite the teenager only joining the pub brawl to pull his friend away.
Mr Cronin’s parents Matt and Robyn have since opened up about their mission to make one-punch attacks ‘socially unacceptable.’
Patrick Cronin (left) had played his first senior football game alongside his sibling Lucas (right) before heading to Windy Mile pub in Diamond Creek in Melbourne on Saturday where the brawl erupted
Patrick Cronin (pictured in green) can be seen trying to locate a friend before Andrew Lee (in red) singles him out and strikes a fatal blow
They described the last 19 months since their son’s death as ‘hell’, their only respite being in the form of the Richmond Tiger’s win during this year’s AFL premiership.
‘We kept Pat’s membership going, I just couldn’t bring myself to cancel his membership,’ Matt Cronin told A Current Affair.
‘Every goal that was kicked I just looked at the heavens and said “C’mon Patty, give us another one!”. It was a pretty special day.’
Mrs Cronin said she ‘had no doubt’ they’d see their son again.
It comes as Mr Cronin’s killer Andrew Lee was sentenced to manslaughter and handed a maximum of eight years jail on Friday over the Melbourne attack.
Andrew Lee (left) was sentenced to at least five years behind bars after killing Patrick Cronin, 19 (right)
The courtroom overflowed with Mr Cronin’s family members, friends and football teammates, some of whom stood and clapped when Lee was jailed.
Mr Cronin was ‘coward punched’ outside the Windy Mile pub in Diamond Creek, Melbourne during a fight involving up to 30 people in April last year.
Lee, a father of a young son, changed his plea to guilty two days into his trial at the Supreme Court of Victoria in September.
Mr Cronin was trying to pull a friend out of a fight at the Windy Mile pub (pictured) when he was fatally struck
Mr Cronin is believed to have not been involved in the fight which ultimately ended his life, but was thought to have been trying to pull friends away from it.
Justice Lex Lasry told the court in his sentencing remarks that Lee had watched the fight before jumping in and hitting Mr Cronin.
He said it would have been clear to the 34-year-old his victim was not participating but was trying to put an end to the brawl.
‘There was no need to do so,’ Justice Lasry said.
‘You should’ve remained standing and watching, or preferably followed Patrick Cronin’s example and tried to prevent the fight from continuing.
‘The one person who suffered the terrible consequences of this action was the person who showed no aggression whatsoever.’
Lee had initially faced murder charges, however it was later lowered to manslaughter at the beginning of his committal hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court earlier this year.
Lee (right) changed his plea to guilty when he faced the Supreme Court of Victoria in September
Mr Cronin suffered severe bleeding to the brain from the blow which proved to be fatal the following day as he died in hospital.
At an earlier hearing, Mr Cronin was remembered as a gentle, smart and courageous young man whose life was cut short by one ‘cowardly punch’.
‘I cry endlessly for my beautifully natured boy who paid a price that no one should have to pay,’ mum Robyn Cronin said in her victim impact statement.
The teenager had taken part in his first senior football match alongside his brother Lucas prior to the altercation.
Pictured: Mr Cronin’s parents Robyn and Matt leaving the Supreme Court of Victoria earlier in Lee’s trial
At the teenager’s funeral, which was attended by about 2,000 mourners, Lucas spoke fondly of the last time he spent with his brother, The Herald Sun reported at the time.
‘Without question my most enjoyable memory of Pat was of the last time kicking the footy together only two Saturday’s ago,’ he told the crowd.
‘This was my final memory of Pat and a fitting one at that.
While Lower Plenty might have lost that game by over 100 points I still remember driving home with Pat sitting next to me and thinking ‘How bloody good was that?’.
‘I will always remember that day… for how determination and hard work got us both to where we wanted to be.’