Overview
- The 11 defendants, who appeared at Colchester Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, were released on unconditional bail pending a Basildon Crown Court hearing on May 1.
- No pleas were taken as each man confirmed his details, with the charge dated to October 21, 2020, the day Dobbin died at 48.
- The defendants are aged between 29 and 49 and are from Essex, and court lists record a separate process for a twelfth suspect, Ryan Carter, 40, who is in custody at HMP The Mount.
- Dobbin was assaulted outside the Railway Tavern in Southend after a 2015 Cambridge United match, leaving him with permanent brain damage and 24-hour care needs until his death in October 2020.
- Serious cases such as manslaughter move from a brief magistrates’ hearing to Crown Court, where judges set the timetable for pleas, pre-trial issues, and any eventual trial.