Family pay tribute to Lee Santos after a man is charged with his murder
The 45-year-old was fatally stabbed in Cullercoats on 23rd December
The family of a man who tragically died following an alleged assault in North Tyneside have today (Friday) paid tribute to him.
Shortly before 4.30pm Friday (December 23), police received a report of a concern for the welfare of a man at an address on John Street, Cullercoats.
Officers attended and found 45-year-old Lee Santos, from Killingworth, with injuries consistent with having been caused by a bladed article.
Sadly, despite the best efforts of police and paramedics, Lee was pronounced dead at the scene.
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.”
A man, aged 43, was subsequently charged with Lee’s murder and appeared at 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 the police website or by calling 101 quoting log NP-20221223-0738.
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