Raoul Moat’s daughter speaks of ‘torture’ killer inflicted on her

Raoul Moat went on the run in Rothbury (Image: PA News) Raoul Moat’s “tortured” daughter has opened up about the trauma she feels after the killer’s rampage and subsequent attempt to avoid the police. Chantelle, 22, has spoken out after becoming tired of people “hero-worshipping” her father. Moat went on a rampage in 2010, shooting his ex-girlfriend, murdering her lover, and then hunting down a police officer. Speaking to The Mirror , Chantelle said: ‘My father has always been a monster. That is all I have ever known him as. When I was young, there was no monster under my bed – he slept next door to me. “If you idolise him you are idolising every woman beater, every child abuser and you’re practically making the situation into a joke… By idolising him they are saying his crimes are OK.’ Police marksmen looking for Moat in 2010 (Image: Getty) People have reportedly been apalled by things such as a plaque on a bench ‘in loving memory’ of Moat, adding he was ‘taken too soon’. Brave Chantelle however had already put her father behind bars, it was just days after he was released from an 18-week prison sentence for assaulting her that he went on his rampage. The former bouncer armed himself with a sawn-off shotgun and blasted his ex Samantha Stobbart. He then shot and killed her boyfriend Chris Brown, 29, before turning his attention to Northumbria Police. He said: “They’ve hunted me for years, now it’s my turn.’ As officer searched for Moat, he shot PC David Rathbone in the face, blinding him. The officer took his own life in 2012 – he was aged just 44. Moat, 37, was eventually cornered by police in Rothbury following a manhunt. It ended when he killed himself. Chantelle was being guarded at a police station. On her mum breaking the news her dad had died, Chantelle said: ‘I’d have been nine or 10. I didn’t cry, I said, ‘We’re finally safe’.’ Raoul Moat in a stand-off with police (Image: Getty) Chantelle says her cruel dad invented scores of terrible punishments for her. They included being forced to stand in heavy rain at a bus stop wearing just a thin nightdress. At one point she watched on in horror as Moat used a baseball bat covered in glass to bludgeon their pet dog to death outside her bedroom door. She said: ‘It was an American pitbull and they were illegal. “When he beat the dog to death I was afraid he was going to kill somebody… and I hoped it was me. He used to force me to have freezing cold baths. I had to go all the way under with only my nose, mouth and eyes showing. “Then he made me cut the front garden with scissors until I had blisters on my fingers. He wouldn’t let me have any water so I was drinking from the gutter. He used to threaten to feed me to his piranhas he kept in a tank.’ Chantelle says at one point Moat tied her to a chair overnight in the dark after she stole food. She said: ‘I think he starved me. I had to eat toast out of school bins or off the floor. “We were scared of him, terrified. He had a Samurai sword, a crossbow and a shotgun or pistol under his bed. There was also CCTV all over the house. ‘I remember thinking about taking one of his weapons and taking him head-on.’ David Rathband was shot by Moat (Image: Getty) Chantelle says she was forced to watch as her dad would smash or burn toys her mum bought for her. She said it left her “devastated”. Moat was able to abuse her for years because he was given sole custody when she was about five. Steroid-addicted Moat conned social services with lies about her mum, saying she had drugs in the house and had stabbed him. He managed to convince Chantelle to repeat his lies by threatening to beat her should she confide in social workers. ‘My mum warned them, they just didn’t listen,’ Chantelle commented. She was forced to take on an adult role at a young age, doing housework until 10pm and even cleaning Moat’s ears. Chantelle, who feels the authorities failed her, finally escaped his clutches when she plucked up the courage to show an adult at school her bruises. Chris Brown was one of Moat’s victims (Image: PA) She said: ‘I was so afraid my father would kill me, I knew I had to tell someone. I showed an adult the six bruises on my spine. I think it was a school counsellor. I said, ‘you can’t let me go back to my dad’. I can’t remember if it was the beating I got over a printer or a uniform. ‘My father got mad at a printer, threw it at the wall and his next words horrified me… ‘Turn around so I can hit you’. On another occasion I forgot to wash the school uniforms. He pinned me to the floor. I was so terrified I wet myself.’ Chantelle was aged just nine when she gave evidence before the court. She continued: ‘I was sobbing because his lawyer would not believe me. “My father] got 18 weeks while I’ve had a lifetime of torment. Someone said ‘you’re safe now’. I said I’d never be safe while he was alive.’ She added: ‘For the longest time, I felt responsible for what happened to Samantha, Chris and David. If I had not gone against my father, maybe they wouldn’t have [been shot]. I’m so sorry for the devastation my father caused.’ Now Chantelle hopes her words will offer support to others suffering. She said: “If you or someone you know is being abused, please speak up. I wish someone had saved me when I was too scared to save myself.’ Chantelle believes Paul Gasgoine turning up at the scene as Moat was involved in a stand-off with police led to the “hero-worshipping” of her father. The former England ace, wearing a dressing gown, had brought chicken, lager and a fishing rod, determined to talk to Moat. He has since said he believed he was the ‘best therapist in the world’ and was capable of ‘saving Raoul’. But Chantelle blasted the star, saying: ‘I think people hero-worship my dad because of Gazza. Because he turned up at the scene with food and a fishing rod, he turned it into a joke. “Paul Gascoigne said he was trying to save him because he had kids. But we were better off with him dead. I don’t mourn him. I mourn the dad I should have had. We would never have been safe.’ She said Moat conned people into liking him with a ‘mask’. She added: ‘Look at how many people put flowers down for him, it’s ridiculous. How is it that what he did is not enough for you not to realise? “It’s ridiculous and it made me angry. By idolising him they are saying his crimes are okay, that what he did to me was okay. I would say if you idolise him you are idolising every woman beater, every child abuser and you’re practically making the situation into a joke.’ Chantelle says her dad would taunt her mum after she hit the headlines when she survived a 35ft fall aged two. The lucky escape in 2003 was twisted by Moat, who told social workers the tot was dropped by her mother. In fact, she had toppled out of the bedroom window and landed on a washing line, which saved her life by breaking her fall. Paramedics feared she had broken her spine. But she incredibly suffered just a few bruises. She spent four days in hospital. Moat told the media he had come home from the gym and found her motionless on the ground. He added: ‘It was the worst moment of my life. I looked down and she was just lying there motionless. I felt sick and thought for sure she was dead. When I got there I was relieved to see her moving, she was even trying to get up, and I just rushed over to her. ‘I think she must have been in shock, she had bruising and scratches all over her face. It’s amazing how well she survived it; it is a miracle that she is alive at all.’ After the incident, Moat was accused by council staff of being aggressive and threatening and warned his tenancy was at risk. A report about the incident meanwhile said Chantelle had been put down for her afternoon nap by her mum when the accident happened. Moat added: ‘Chantelle is a very big girl and very strong for her age. She had managed to pull her bed under the window – it’s not a very big bed and she somehow managed to drag it across the room. She is, as I said, very strong for her age – I’m a nightclub bouncer, so maybe she gets it from me.’