Patriots fan who died after stadium fight didn’t suffer traumatic injury, had ‘medical issue’

A New England Patriots fan didn’t suffer from “traumatic” injuries when he collapsed at a game and later died, officials said Wednesday, suggesting his death may not be linked to a fight at the stadium.

Dale Mooney, a 53-year-old New Hampshire resident, fell unconscious in the fourth quarter of New England’s “Sunday Night Football” game against the Miami Dolphins in the upper deck of Gillette Stadium in Foxborough and could not be revived, officials said.

He was punched by a Miami Dolphins fan and fell unconscious, witnesses said, but that blow might not have been the cause of Mooney’s death.

“Preliminary autopsy results did not suggest traumatic injury, but did identify a medical issue,” according to a statement Wednesday from the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office. “Cause and manner of death remain undetermined pending further testing.”

The DA’s statement did not elaborate on the “medical issue” Mooney was enduring at the time of his death.

No one has been arrested or charged in connection with Sunday’s incident.

“We’re still reviewing all of the video and other evidence,” DA spokesperson David Traub said. “We’re still piecing this together, all of the events.”

Final autopsy findings will likely frame how prosecutors view all of the eyewitness accounts.

“If this gives us a clear cause and manner of death, then that’ll be a big piece of the evidence and seeing how it all fits together,” Traub said.

Mooney and a Dolphins fan were tussling during the fourth quarter of the game when his Patriots jersey was briefly pulled over his head, Pats fan and witness Joseph Kilmartin told NBC News on Tuesday.

“Once he stuck his back up, and you could see his head again, is when he got the two punches from the Dolphins fan,” Kilmartin said. “As soon as he was punched, he fell unconscious.”

But even before the preliminary autopsy findings were revealed on Wednesday morning, Kilmartin said be believed Mooney was in distress before hitting the deck.

“It did look like, at a certain point prior to him getting punched (in the head), you can see that his body wasn’t moving like it should and I believe he’s having a heart attack already at this point,” said Kilmartin, a 29-year-old exterminator from Nashua, New Hampshire.

“He was out cold once he fell. But in my opinion, it wasn’t even the blow that did it. I think in the tussel, in the hockey fight aspect of it, I think he began to have a heart attack. I think the got so worked up in the scuffle, it caused him to have a heat attack. Whether he was punched in the head or not, he was already suffering from a heart attack.”

Mooney was transported to Sturdy Memorial Hospital by emergency medical technicians, where he was pronounced dead.

Once Mooney was knocked out, witness and Pats fan Devyn Kirwin, 19, said he feared for the worst.

“I saw him on the ground and knew it wasn’t good,” said Kirwin, seated in Section 310 a few rows in front of the scuffle. “It did not look good. As soon as I saw him, I knew something was wrong.”

Two Dolphins fans stood over Mooney in the aftermath, one in a Tyreek Hill jersey, before security officers led them away, according to Kirwin.

“We are heartbroken to learn of the tragic passing of Dale Mooney, a lifelong Patriots fans and 30-year season ticket member, who died while attending last Sunday night’s Patriots game,” according to a statement Tuesday by the Kraft Group, owners of Gillette Stadium.

“We continue to work with local authorities to assist them with their ongoing investigation. We extend our sincerest sympathies and heartfelt condolences to Dale’s family and to all those who are mourning his loss.”