Man arrested on suspicion of murdering paedophile who tried to groom young girl
A man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a convicted paedophile after he was attacked in his home.
John Coxon, 77, died two months after sustaining a serious head injury in a violent assault at his property in Park Lane, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, on 12 January.
A 64-year-old man from Stroud was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm but was later released under investigation.
Gloucestershire Constabulary's Major Crime Investigation Team (MCIT) re-arrested the man on Wednesday, but this time on suspicion of murder.
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Coxon was first before the courts in 2009, when he was convicted of possessing indecent images of children - but he failed to stop offending.
In 2016 he was jailed for 12 months for possessing 474 images indecent images of children on his computer before being jailed again for breaching a Sexual harm Prevention Order by talking to a seven-year-old girl.
It is understood that he had lived at the address with his wife for more than ten years and neighbours say local youths targeted his house on a regular basis.
Coxon was rushed to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital after he was attacked and died on 25 March.
A woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said police installed a CCTV camera on the lamppost 15 metres from her home - to protect Coxon.
She said: "His house was targeted by the kids all the time, they would come along and egg it or smash the windows.”
Another person, who said he had lived in Park Road for five years, added: "It's not a tragedy for us."
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A police presence is expected in the Park Lane area as detectives continue to carry out enquiries.
Detective Inspector Adam Stacey said: "We wanted to let the local community know why we’re in the area, and to also urge anyone who thinks they have information relating to Mr Coxon’s death to please come forward.”
He added: “We appreciate that we’re asking people to cast their minds back to January, in case they saw someone in the area or witnessed something.
"As Mr Coxon also died several months ago, we’re keen to hear from anyone who has heard anything about what led to his death.”
