A man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of a convicted paedophile following an attack in his own home.
John Coxon died aged 77 two months after sustaining a serious head injury in a violent attack in house on Park Road, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, on January 12.
He was taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital by ambulance for treatment before he dying there on March 25.
Neighbours on Park Road were not upset over his death, with resident saying she was ‘outraged’ over the arrest, adding that police shouldn’t waste their time with the investigation and that Coxon’s death was ‘karma’.
A mother who lived on the street said it was a ‘relief’ as she was reluctant to let her children play on the streets.
Another A 64-year-old man from Stroud was earlier arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm but was later released under investigation.
He was yesterday re-arrested on suspicion of murder after the investigation was passed onto Gloucestershire Constabulary’s Major Crime Investigation Team (MCIT).
A 64-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after convicted paedophile John Coxon (pictured) died aged 77 two months after sustaining a serious head injury in a violent assault on January 12
The attack happened at Coxon’s own home on Park Road (general view), Stonehouse, Gloucestershire
Coxon was first before the courts in 2009, when he was convicted of possessing indecent images of children – but he failed to stop offending.
In 2016 he was jailed for 12 months for possessing 474 images indecent images of children on his computer before being jailed again in 2017 for breaching a Sexual harm Prevention Order by talking to a seven-year-old girl.
It is understood that he had lived at the address with his wife for more than ten years and neighbours say his house was targeted by local youths on a regular basis.
One woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said police installed a CCTV camera on the lamppost 15 metres from her home – to protect Coxon.
She said: ‘His house was targeted by the kids all the time, they would come along and egg it or smash the windows.
‘I’m not sad he’s dead, it’s a relief. I had to bring up my children in this street, and I was always reluctant to allow them out the front to play.’
Another local resident, who says he has lived in Park Road for five years, said: ‘It’s not a tragedy for us.
‘If he was killed, then fair play. Obviously the person who did it will have to serve their sentence, but they’ll probably be hailed a hero on the inside.’
A woman, who was passing Coxon’s home as she walked to work, said she was ‘outraged’ that a man had been arrested for murder.
She added: ‘People have wanted him gone forever. Who would want a paedophile around anyway? I doubt anyone will help the police solve this crime.
‘They shouldn’t be wasting their time with it [the murder investigation]. It’s karma’
Coxon was taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital (pictured) by ambulance for treatment before dying there on March 25
For the rest of this week, a police presence is expected in the Park Road area as detectives continue to carry out enquiries.
Detective Inspector Adam Stacey said: ‘Over the coming days there will be a police presence at Mr Coxon’s address in Stonehouse while further searches take place there.
‘We wanted to let the local community know why we’re in the area, and to also urge anyone who thinks they have information relating to Mr Coxon’s death to please come forward.
‘You can contact us online or by calling us on 101, or if you’d prefer to provide information anonymously then you can contact Crimestoppers.
‘We appreciate that we’re asking people to cast their minds back to January, in case they saw someone in the area or witnessed something.
‘As Mr Coxon also died several months ago, we’re keen to hear from anyone who has heard anything about what led to his death.’