‘Loving grandad’: Emotional tributes paid to Newcastle United fan who died in suspected Cullercoats murder

Emotional tributes have been paid to a "loving brother, dad and grandad" who was killed in a suspected murder in Cullercoats on Friday, December 23.

Lee Santos was found dead at an address on John Street last week having suffered injuries consistent with having been caused by a bladed article. Police were alerted to a report of concern for the welfare of a man on the Cullercoats street shortly before 4:30 pm.

Sadly, despite the best efforts of police and paramedics, 45-year-old Lee was pronounced dead at the scene. A 43-year-old man of John Street, Andrew Peacock, was arrested at the scene and has been charged with murder.

In a joint statement paying tribute, Lee’s family said: “Lee was a loving brother, dad and grandad who still had so many things to look forward to in his life. We are still processing the fact that he is no longer with us.

“As a family, we would like to thank everyone for their support. We now respectfully ask that we are given the time and privacy to grieve, as we try to come to terms with what’s happened.”

Andrew Peacock subsequently charged with Lee’s murder and appeared in court on December 26. He has been remanded into custody awaiting his next court appearance.

Detective Inspector Tam Fowler, of Northumbria Police, said: “Our thoughts continue to be with Lee’s family at this devastating time and our specially-trained officers will continue to support them. We would ask anybody who has any information who hasn’t already come forward to contact police.

“We would also ask that people avoid any speculation in the community that could jeopardise the ongoing investigation.”

Anyone with information can contact police via the ‘Tell Us Something’ page of their website or by calling 101 quoting log NP-20221223-0738.