Gye Worthy, 39, the father of 17-year-old Cole Worthy, has been charged with common assault, public order offenses, and obstructing police. The charges stem from a disturbance that occurred during the funeral service for his son at Teesside Crematorium on Wednesday, September 9.
Cleveland Police stated that Worthy allegedly became agitated by comments made during the service and assaulted a mourner. He was arrested at the scene. Worthy is scheduled to appear before Teesside Magistrates' Court on October 2.
Cole Worthy was one of five young men and women, aged between 17 and 23, who died on August 22 when the vehicle they were traveling in crashed into an armed response police vehicle on the A66 near Middlesbrough. Two police officers, PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, were also killed in the incident. Police reports indicated the five occupants of the vehicle were attempting to evade law enforcement when the collision occurred.
Authorities have linked the fatal crash to a gangland turf war over drug supply in the Teesside area. The occupants of the vehicle were identified as Cole Worthy, Jakub Matusiak, 23, Makai Saddington, 18, Michael Cahill, 23, and Theo Rae, 17.
The funeral for Michael Cahill, one of the youths killed in the crash, also took place on September 10 in County Durham. A source close to Cole Worthy's family, identified as Sarah Moloney, expressed gratitude for the mourners' attendance at Cole's service, stating their presence provided significant comfort during a difficult time.
Cole Worthy's mother, Natalie McConnell, who has been separated from Gye Worthy for some time, was reportedly devastated and shocked by the disruption at her son's memorial. Gye Worthy works as an offshore deck foreman and owns a specialist lifting company. His home in Acklam, Middlesbrough, had reportedly sustained significant damage in a separate criminal incident that Cleveland Police were investigating, occurring shortly before the fatal crash in which his son died.