Two individuals are facing charges of assault and battery in connection with the death of a fan during the Patriots-Dolphins game in September.
Two Rhode Island residents, John Vieira (59) and Justin Mitchell (39), both from Warwick, are facing charges of assault and battery as well as disorderly conduct in connection with the recent death of a fan at a New England Patriots game. Foxborough Police filed charges against Vieira and Mitchell after they were accused of assaulting 53-year-old Dale Mooney from Newmarket, New Hampshire, during an altercation at the September 17 game against the Miami Dolphins, which the Patriots lost 24-17. Mooney was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.
Criminal complaints, filed earlier this month, allege that both Vieira and Mitchell “did assault and beat Dale Mooney.” Mitchell’s lawyer did not respond immediately to a phone call, and court records did not indicate legal representation for Vieira.
Preliminary indications from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner did not suggest traumatic injury but identified a medical issue, with the cause and manner of death undetermined pending further testing. However, final determinations revealed the manner of death as a homicide, citing “probable cardiac dysrhythmia in a person with severe hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease during a physical altercation.”
Despite this, the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office, after reviewing autopsy results and multiple video angles capturing the incident, concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support criminal charges related to homicide in Mooney’s death. Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey stated in a Thursday statement that the available evidence did not establish a basis for prosecution in connection with Mooney’s death.
