Dale Mooney, Newmarket, New Hampshire man and New England Patriots fan beaten to death by Miami Dolphins man after war of words led to father of two being punched in the face and dying. No charges filed.
‘Why can’t it just be fun?’ A grieving wife of a New Hampshire man alleges her husband was taunted before being beaten to death during the New England Patriots vs Miami Dolphins game at Gillette Stadium over the weekend.
Dale Mooney, 53, a father of two and a season ticket holder for 30 years was punched during a brawl that broke out in the stands on Sunday. Despite being rushed to hospital, Mooney was pronounced dead before midnight.
Authorities are thought to have taken in a man in for questioning as they now await autopsy results. To date no charges or arrests have been made.
Wow.
A longtime #Patriots fan died at the game Sunday night after being punched by a #Dolphins fan and smashing his head against the ground.
Dale Mooney, was a 30 year season ticket holder who was at the game with his son when this happened.
— NFL Notifications (@NFLNotify) September 19, 2023
‘He didn’t throw a single punch,’
‘He didn’t throw a single punch,’ Lisa Mooney of Newmarket, New Hampshire told WMUR. Adding, ‘I just feel numb I can’t even believe this is for real.’
Lisa told Boston 25 News that she heard her husband was being taunted by multiple Dolphins fans during the game – with footage showing the man not retaliating.
A spectator has now stepped forward, saying they witnessed the unfolding scene between Mooney and an un-known Dolphins fan.
‘The Dolphins fan walks over and clearly punches him in the face,’ Joey Kilmartin, of Nashua, New Hampshire, told MassLive. ‘(He) gets knocked out and you can tell right away he’s not OK.’
Kilmartin stated Mooney also having gotten into a physical confrontation with other fans toward the end of the fourth quarter.
‘‘They started tussling around for a few minutes,’ Kilmartin said, adding, ‘At one point another Dolphins fan walked over. He punched him three times, and the man just went out. It was pretty hard to watch.’
He said that Mooney was hit twice in the face before falling into his seat unconscious.
‘Why can’t it just be fun?’
Several other anonymous witnesses gave similar descriptions of the ‘brutal’ attack which caused Mooney to ‘crumble’, while speaking with Boston 10 at the scene.
‘One word I can really use is shocking,’ one bystander said. ‘My thoughts go out to that man’s family. It’s awful what happened,’ another person commented
The death of Lisa’s husband has left her unnerved and seeking answers.
‘I don’t understand why people have to go to that extreme. Why can’t it just be fun, that’s all it’s supposed to be, just a fun family event,’ Lisa told WCVB.
Lisa added that her husband had no known medical condition that could cause him to pass out, and he ‘has the patience of a saint’.
‘I don’t know what happened… it takes a lot to get him mad,’ she said.
No charges have been filed, though Kilmartin told MassLive that he witnessed cops take one man into custody.
The District Attorney’s Office said the investigation into Dale Mooney’s death was following ‘normal protocol’ with an autopsy due to take place in the coming days.
To date no arrests have been made.
