Homeless man found dead after being spray-painted by yobs was left on street when mum died of cancer
Michael Cash 'lost his way' and ended up involved in drugs after his mum Elaine died when he was 20
A HOMELESS man found dead days after he was cruelly spray-painted by a yob was living on the streets after his mum died of cancer, his aunt said today.
Tragic Michael Cash, 32, had to leave his council house after the death of beloved mum Elaine, then "lost his way" through drugs and crime.
New details of his life emerged as his family reels from the "outrageous and inhuman" assault outside a Tesco Express in Middlesbrough, North Yorks, on September 9.
Michael was found dead in a cemetery in the town three days after the shocking video of him covered in red paint was posted online.
A man is heard saying in the footage: "This is how we deal with the beggars on the street" and adding: "He’s not even a beggar. There he is, sprayed to death.”
Now Michael's aunt Lorraine Darling has told how his life spiralled out of control after the death of his mother from lung cancer 12 years ago.
She : "They were very close and she was his guiding light. After she died I don't think the world was ever the same for him.
"Michael was devoted to Elaine and when she died it devastated him. He was so lost without her - we all were.
"I lost the twin sister I loved so much and Michael lost his way. There seemed nothing we could do to help him."
Michael, the youngest of four siblings, was a teenager when Elaine fell ill and nursed her until her death aged 51, when he was still only 20.
Lorraine, 63, said Michael had to move of Elaine's council house and "fell in with the wrong crowd", becoming hooked on heroin.
His elder half-brother and sister Stephen and Sarah Carman both tried to help him, Lorraine said.
And his full brother Paul Cash offered to take him into the home he shares with wife Christine and their kids.
A businessman cousin said the family wanted to send him to a rehab clinic in Scotland.
But Michael rejected their help and ended up on the streets.
He was often seen sitting outside the Tesco in Normanby, where he was sprayed by the yob, and where well-wishers have left flowers beside the ring of red paint.
Michael was also well known at another shop in Eston. His body was found in the nearby cemetery where his gran and a cousin are buried.
Police said his death was not suspicious. The cause of death will not be known until after the results of toxicology tests.
Last week we told how a yob who filmed the sick attack moaned he needed police protection after threats from angry locals.
Aaron Jones, 30, insisted he wasn't to blame for Michael's death when confronted by The Sun Online.
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Lugging a crate of lager, the decorator said: "I posted the video and I'm sorry for that, and I feel for the lad's family.
"But I wasn't responsible for spraying him with paint - I just came out of the shop and took a video."
On Tuesday Cleveland Police said a 33-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of assault and criminal damage.
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