A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Gye Worthy, 40, after he assaulted the celebrant at his son's funeral, following the A66 crash that killed seven people. Worthy, a self-employed businessman, attacked Paul Maull, 46, during the cremation service for his 17-year-old son Cole at Teesside Crematorium on September 9.
The attack occurred after Worthy allegedly became enraged because the celebrant did not name-check him soon enough in the eulogy. He grabbed Mr Maull by his clothing, dragged him, and threatened him with violence in front of mourners, before resisting police officers called to the scene.
Court appearance and warrant
Worthy had pleaded guilty to assault, resisting arrest, and a separate theft offence. He was due to appear for sentencing at Teesside Magistrates' Court, but failed to attend. The court was also told he had not attended a compulsory appointment with probation officers for a pre-sentence report.
Adam Scott, prosecuting, said: "Gye Worthy was bailed to attend this court this morning for sentence by the previous court. He has not attended therefore the application will be made for warrant not backed by bail." Deputy district judge Julia Baggs issued a warrant for his arrest "not backed for bail", meaning he must be kept in police custody until brought before the court.
Background of the A66 crash
The crash occurred on August 22 after Cole Worthy and four associates took to the road intent on revenge, following a suspected gangland feud. The Worthy family home in Acklam, Middlesbrough, was among three properties ram-raided. PC Tom Clough, 38, and PC Matthew Blades, 37, were killed when their response vehicle was hit by a VW Passat travelling the wrong way on the A66. Jakub Matusiak, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and Michael Cahill, 23, also died at the scene.
The incident was blamed on a gangland turf war over the supply of drugs on Teesside. Police abandoned the pursuit just ten seconds before the head-on collision. While on bail for the attack, Worthy is also accused of stealing food and alcohol from a Co-op store in Middlesbrough on September 22, and was charged with possessing the controlled drugs zopiclone and pregabalin on October 6.
