Raoul Moat's ex-girlfriend's horror ordeal, life after being shot and ITV fears
When Samantha Stobbart met her former boyfriend Raoul Moat aged 16, she never anticipated the nightmare of a relationship they would go on to have.
In the six years they spent on and off together, Moat, who was 15 years her senior, fathered her child, tragically murdered her new boyfriend and nearly killed her too.
Over a decade later, Moat's horror shooting spree and the devastating aftermath have been dramatised in a new three-part drama series by ITV.
The Hunt for Raoul Moat, which began airing on Sunday, revisits the tragic story of Britain's most famous manhunt.
Who is Samantha Stobbart?
Samantha met Moat in 2004 when her school friends set them up, and just a couple of years later they had a daughter named Chanel together.
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Samantha's half-sister Kelly said their six-year relationship was mired in domestic violence and he left her on a number of occasions.
Samantha was 16 when she met Moat and went on to have a baby girl with himWhile the bodybuilder was in Durham prison for assault, trainee hairdresser Samantha started dating karate instructor Chris Brown, 29.
He had moved to the area from Windsor, Berkshire, six months before the attack, and Samantha told Moat that he was a policeman - in a bid to protect herself.
Samantha later said Moat had a "Jekyll and Hyde split personality" and she was "very worried, frightened, really scared" about what he'd do when he was released.
"I expected he would flip his lid and that there would be trouble; he'd come looking for Chris," she told the court.
"I had told him the relationship was at an end but he would not have it. He would not take no for an answer."
Moat became obsessed with the fact that Samantha was seeing a new man and wanted what he disgustingly described as "vengeance".
What happened to her?
On July 3, 2010, Moat shot ex-girlfriend Samantha through the window of a friend's house, moments after killing her lover Chris in a brutal attack.
Samantha, then 22, was rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead, where she was left fighting for her life.
Raoul Moat was a violent boyfriend and became very obsessive towards Samantha (Getty Images)
Moat murdered Chris Brown on July 3 2010 before shooting PC David Rathband (PA)Her sister Kelly told the Mirror: "We were thinking she could die - and that nutter Moat was still on the run."
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The day after the initial shooting, Moat, 37, shot and blinded PC David Rathband, then 44, as he sat in his patrol car in Newcastle.
The following day, Samantha was declared to no longer be in a critical condition and finally left the hospital on July 17.
Samantha issued a direct appeal to Moat, who had gone on the run, and said: "Please give yourself up. If you still loved me and our baby you would not be doing this."
At 1.12am on July 10, Moat blasted himself in the head after a six-hour stand-off with armed police in Rothbury, Northumberland.
Samantha told her family at the time: "My daughter's lost her dad. I wanted to see him again and ask why he did this to me. I just can't understand what's happened."
What has she said about the shooting?
Samantha recalled to the press the exact moment Moat appeared at the window and started to shoot.
She told News of The World in 2010: "There was nothing I could do against a madman with a gun. I had to get back to the house to make sure my baby daughter Chanel was safe.
"I saw the sparks flying off Raoul's gun as he shot me. Then I was on the floor with blood pumping out everywhere."
She was left with three bullet wounds that she had covered with tattoosOn 29 February, 2012, PC Rathband was found dead at his home in a suspected suicide, after struggling to come to terms with his blindness.
"I just kept thinking to myself - that's another life that Raoul's taken away. Even when he's dead, he is still hurting people," Samantha told the Mirror.
"I'm the only one left now. Sometimes I think this will only be finished when I die.
"I can't imagine how horrible it must be to lose your sight. But I do have an inkling of how he must have felt.
"I know how low I have felt and there were lots of times when I thought about suicide. I just thought 'I can't do this any more'.
"But then I've got my little girl, and I would look at her and remember why I had to live. If I had lost my eyesight and couldn't see her, I don't think I'd be here either."
The 24-year-old was left scarred and traumatised by her horrific experience and became scared of the dark.
"All I have to do is shut my eyes and I'm there. Chris is lying on the grass, dead. And Raoul is outside," she continued.
Samantha said she felt 'lucky' that their daughter Chanel wouldn't remember her dad"He has a dead look on his eyes, like the lights are on but no one is there.
"But that isn't the only reason I'm scared of the dark. There are hundreds of people out there who blame me.
"That's why we have moved three times in two years, why I'm now living with my parents, and why I'm always looking over my shoulder. I think I'll be doing that for the rest of my life."
Samantha found herself "wrapping Chanel up in cotton wool" afterwards, and admitted: "Without my daughter, I wouldn't have lasted this long.
"She is getting older now, and she does ask lots of questions. I always try to be honest with her without being too blunt with the facts.
"The other day we were in the bank and she pointed at my rib and said, 'Mummy, is that where Daddy shot you?' In the end I had to say yes.
"I'm lucky that Raoul never spent any time with her, so she doesn't remember him. She only knows his face because his photo was on the news.
The three-part ITV series airs this week and relives the 2010 manhunt (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)"She used to think Chris was her dad. I told her he is a star in the sky now, so whenever there is a dark night, she'll point out a star and say, 'Mammy, is that Chris?'
"It always makes me cry. When she is older I will explain that Raoul was her dad, and show her the newspaper clippings. But it won't be easy."
Samantha had all three gunshot wounds decorated with tattoos - a bright butterfly, an extract from the poem Footsteps and a cross dedicated to Chris.
She was barred from Chris' funeral by his family, but revealed she would still "write to him in a diary" in 2012.
"I can't imagine finding anyone else who compares to him," she said. "I send him poems and letters. Losing him has changed my life forever."
Samantha added: "I know what happened will haunt me forever, and I'll never forget it 100 percent. But now I'm just trying to move on.
"If I start putting myself in the position of a victim then Raoul has won, and I don't want to let him win anymore.
"I'm going to get through this and not let him hurt me anymore."
Where is Samantha Stobbart now?
Samantha's interview with the Mirror in 2012 was the last time she spoke to the press about Moat, and not a lot is known about her whereabouts now.
But the new ITV documentary has brought back a lot of trauma for her family and she is still facing abuse to this day.
Sally Messham as Samantha Stobbart in ITV series The Hunt For Raoul Moat (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)"We're lucky our Sam survived. ITV don't realise the impact this will have on the people involved," Samantha's sister Kelly, 40, told the Mirror.
"It still gives me nightmares and I suffer PTSD. I'm so sick of hearing Raoul's name, and I'm so sick of him being on TV.
"I hate seeing his face on social media and then having to read all the comments people make about Sam.
"So many people blame her for what happened on social media and troll her. This is something we can never forget but we would like to move on from it."
ITV drama The Hunt for Raoul Moat continues tonight at 9pm
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