About Dean

Dean William Philip Wright was born on 29 September 1986 in Newcastle upon Tyne and was the only child of his doting mother Maria Wray. He was an extremely popular person and had a large group of friends, many of whom he had been pals with since his school years. He also developed many friendships through his work which took him all over the world.

Dean was a bit of a joker and he loved to make people laugh; he was also a very caring and generous person who liked nothing better than to spend time with his family and friends. The bond he had with his Mam was a special one. There wasn’t a day went by without him being in contact with her either by phone or text. They were extremely close. In his spare time, one of his passions was cooking and he excelled at that, often cooking for his Mam, her favourite “beef wellington”. He loved his music and attended lots of gigs and festivals including being lucky enough to visit Glastonbury on more than one occasion with his mam, stepdad and family. He saw himself as bit of a DJ and even invested in his own decks.

His popularity was evident in the fact that almost 500 friends and family attended the final celebration of his life in January 2020, with people travelling from near and far to pay their last respects.
Dean lived his whole life in Newcastle. He attended St Cuthbert’s Primary and then went on to St Cuthbert’s secondary. When he left school, Dean became an apprentice electrician working for Lorne Stewart and attending Hartlepool College. Three years into his apprenticeship he was made redundant but he didn’t give up as he then joined Fletcher’s electrical where he completed his apprenticeship. He worked as an electrician on the domestic side but soon discovered that he preferred commercial work. Sadly, Dean again was made redundant, this time at Christmas but not wanting to claim benefits Dean worked for Toys R us and Curry’s to keep himself in work. Undeterred by so many setbacks at the start of his career, Dean was determined he would never be out of work again and signed himself up for a course which would enable him to work offshore. He was an ambitious person and knew that he would have to work hard if he wanted to have a good life so, after a couple of years offshore, he then trained as an inspector. This gave him the opportunity to enjoy life to the full and his passion for travel. Once qualified he travelled to Norway, Denmark, Germany and New Orleans. He also travelled to Thailand, Australia and finally Mexico. This was his 3rd time in Mexico but this time it was his last. His chance to live a full life and bear the fruits of his labour were stolen from him in the early hours of the morning on the 14th December 2019. His mother will tell you that she has had 33 really precious years with him but now, together with the rest of his family will spend as many years as it takes to find out the truth and get justice for Dean.