Death of Patrick Cronin

Patrick John Cronin (24 September 1996 – 18 April 2016) was a 19-year-old Australian man who died following a brawl at the Windy Mile Hotel in Diamond Creek, Victoria in 2016.

Cronin was killed by a single strike to the back of his head (described as a coward punch) while he attempted to pull his friend out of the fight.

It is believed the brawl involved up to thirty individuals, several of whom were charged in relation to the brawl.

The main offender, Andrew William Lee, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Cronin and received a prison term of eight years with a five-year non-parole period.

Following his sentencing, Lee sought twice to appeal his original sentence but was refused.

In addition to his sentence, Lee was ordered to pay Cronin's family $170,972 by the Supreme Court of Victoria following a compensation claim by Cronin's family.

Of the other individuals who were charged in relation to Cronin's death, one had his charge dismissed, two received a criminal conviction and had to pay fines of $2,000 and $3,000, two were offered diversions, and one was ordered to be of good behaviour and make a $2,000 donation to the Pat Cronin Foundation.

The foundation was set up by Cronin's family; it aims to end the coward punch and educate people on the consequences of violence.

The foundation presents its "Be Wise Education Program" to school students across Victoria in an effort to promote responsible decision-making from a young age.

On 16 April 2016 at 9:45p.m., Patrick Cronin met with friends at the bar of the Windy Mile Hotel in Diamond Creek, Victoria, Australia.

Earlier in the day, Cronin and his older brother Lucas had both played their first senior match at their local football club.

Andrew Lee arrived at the hotel at 10:21p.m. and proceeded to have a few drinks with his friends.

At around 11p.m., a fight broke out just outside the hotel after a man named Joseph Hitchcock confronted a group of four patrons who yelled "fuck off, you fatty" to him.

Shortly thereafter, Patrick Cronin was seen on CCTV to have left his seat at the bar and proceeded outside to where the fight was taking place.

He was seen trying to remove his friend, Anthony Hopkins, from the brawl.

Lee also proceeded outside to the location of the altercation and watched for approximately a minute before deciding to get involved.

Lee approached the brawl, out of Cronin's view, towards his right side.

Lee threw three punches, all of which were aimed at Cronin's friend, Hopkins.

The first punch struck the right side of Hopkins' head, the second punch struck Cronin near his ear (the force of the blow causing Cronin to stumble sideways), and the third punch did not strike anyone.

From that point, Lee continued to engage in the brawl while Cronin removed Hopkins and other friends out of the area.

Police arrived at the hotel soon afterwards; the brawl subsided and the participants scattered.

Cronin explained to friends that he had been punched on the right of his head and could be seen rubbing the area on CCTV.

Cronin then left the hotel to stay at a friend's house; he complained of a headache and feeling unwell during the rest of the evening.

By 12:30a.m., Cronin's condition had become considerably worse, and he was found vomiting in the bathroom by Hopkins.

Cronin said that he suspected he had a concussion.

At around 1a.m., Cronin's mother, Robyn Cronin, was called to pick him up due to his poor condition.

As his condition further deteriorated, Cronin began convulsing and suffered a seizure; an ambulance was called.

By the time paramedics arrived, Cronin was unconscious.

The MICA staff had to intervene in order to assist Cronin's breathing and to stabilise his condition for the trip to the hospital.

Upon his arrival at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, doctors determined that Cronin "suffered a significant haemorrhage on the right side of his brain" and that the "injury was not survivable".

Cronin died at 8:25p.m on 18 April 2016 from what was described as an "acute extra-dural haemorrhage following blunt force trauma."

A post mortem was conducted by forensic pathologist Yeliena Baber.

She concluded that Cronin had been struck at the "weakest point of the skull", only 4 mm thick.

She described the area as the "achilles tendon of the skull."

She reported that the punch Cronin suffered caused a 2 cm hairline fracture in his skull and it was a "lacerated artery that produced the haemorrhage."

Police suspected that as many as thirty individuals were engaged in the altercation that took Cronin's life; ultimately, charges were filed against seven individuals involved in the brawl.

On 19 April 2016, police released an image of "a man they would like to speak to," the following day, Lee turned himself in, was arrested, and charged with Cronin's murder.

In May 2017, Lee's initial charge of murder was downgraded to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

On 8 September 2017, Lee pleaded guilty to one charge of manslaughter in relation to his involvement in the brawl.

His plea of guilty occurred one day after his trial had started and a jury was empaneled.