Dying father of man found dead in Michael Barrymore’s pool makes deathbed demand for justice
Terry Lubbock (left) has been fighting for justice for his son Stuart (right) for two decades. (YouTube/ yourharlowfilms and Essex Police)
Terry Lubbock, the father of Stuart Lubbock who was found dead in Michael Barrymore’s swimming pool, has issued a final plea for justice in his son’s murder case with just days left to live.
Stuart was found unconscious in Barrymore’s swimming pool at his mansion in Roydon, Essex, after a party with eight other guests in March, 2001.
The case has stumped police for two decades, during which time no one has ever been charged with or convicted of his murder.
Terry, 76, who has pancreatic cancer and was put on end-of-life care last week, could have just days to live, and has issued a fresh plea for justice he has been fighting for for 20 years.
He told the i: “I’m going, everybody knows that, with this cancer. But I don’t want to go anywhere until I get a new inquest.
“Then I will lie at rest if I get an inquest, because that is what I want for my son Stuart Lubbock.”
“My body is not working that well, and they’re having a good look at my body, because the cancer now has moved on and they can’t do anything about it now,” he continued.
“I don’t know how long I can keep fighting. I mean I will keep fighting, even when I’m in my box being burned.
“I don’t know when that will be, but I will keep fighting until that comes.”
Although Stuart’s death was initially ruled an accidental drowning, the post-mortem revealed “horrific anal injuries”, indicating that he had been sexually assaulted and his death was later ruled a murder.
In 2009, the Independent Police Complaints Commission upheld six complaints relating to the initial police investigation, including that officers missed evidence and did not complete some forensic tests until six years after Stuart’s death.
Terry added: “I’m blaming the police, because if they’d have been doing their job… There must have been a bad coin in there, or somebody bad, that made an open verdict… The High Court, the police, all my life I believed in justice, but I’ve never had that, and I want justice for Stuart, and I want to see that before I die.”
On 17 March, Essex police said detectives had “arrested a 50-year-old man in connection with the indecent assault and murder of Stuart Lubbock”, but the unidentified man was later released on bail “while detectives continue their enquiries”.
In a statement, detective superintendent Lucy Morris of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate said that police would be “contacting all of those who were present at the party at the time as well as others who may have information”.
Michael Barrymore has always denied knowing what happened to Stuart, who was 31 when he died.
