Three men arrested in connection with the murder of a Villa fan hit by a car after the Second City Derby have been released on police bail.
Christopher Priest, aged 26 from Sutton Coldfield, died after being struck by a VW Golf in Aston Hall Road near Villa Park at around 3pm, shortly after Villa had beaten their fierce rivals Birmingham City 5-1 on Sunday.
A 20-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder on Sunday, while two more men were arrested yesterday by Kent Police and were transported to the West Midlands for questioning.
A 21-year-old from Birmingham was arrested on suspicion of murder and a 29-year-old man from Solihull has been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
All three have now been released on bail.
Unconfirmed reports initially suggested the incident was related to football rivalry. But police confirmed the victim and the first man arrested in connection with the alleged incident were both Villa fans.
West Midlands Police spokeswoman Catherine Preece said: “Three men aged 20, 21 and 29 who were arrested in connection with this incident have been bailed pending further inquiries.”
The victim’s mother Barbara Priest said: “He was a wonderful son and didn’t deserve this.
“He will be sadly missed by me, his dad Lee, sister Natalie and all his family.”
Share this article:
What are these?