Daily Express

FORMER NAVY OFFICER KILLED BY CAR THIEVES AS HE TRIED TO DEFEND HIS HOME

- By Andy Russell

A FORMER Royal Navy offi cer was mown down and killed trying to stop thieves stealing his car outside his home early yesterday.

Michael Samwell, 35, suffered multiple injuries when struck by his £ 35,000 dark blue Audi S3 as the thieves drove off.

Michael, who married longterm girlfriend Jessica in 2011, was woken by a bang outside his £ 500,000 house in Chorlton, Manchester, at around 3am.

He confronted thieves at the back of the house where he parked. Michael, who served in the Navy for 12 years, was rushed to Manchester Royal Infirmary where he died.

The powerful Audi was driven away “erraticall­y” and found abandoned in Ladybarn in the south of the city.

Detective Superinten­dent Jon Chadwick said: “My thoughts go out to Michael’s wife and his family. I cannot comprehend what they must be going through.

Innocent

“We have launched a murder investigat­ion and are searching for those responsibl­e.

“This is the murder of an innocent man who has merely sought to protect his property.

“Michael was in bed with his wife when they heard a loud noise downstairs so he went downstairs to see what was happening.

“He suffered multiple injuries when struck by the car, we do not know how many times.

“The car was driven away in an erratic manner. We do not know how many were in it but it was abandoned a couple of miles away after it was damaged when it struck a kerb.

“This is a quiet residentia­l area and there would have been a lot of noise. We need people to help us find who did this.

“This is a line which cannot be crossed.

“We will not stop until we have found the person responsibl­e for this dreadful crime.”

Michael’s close friend Edward Ridding, from Liverpool, said: “He was a true gentleman, a keen cyclist, skier, vinyl collector, Pilates fan and motor sports enthusiast.

“He was a former naval offi cer – a submariner – living a life he’d worked so very hard to achieve. He adored his wife and the ground on which she stood, a truly beautiful couple.

“He had an uncanny ability to make friends in seconds and talk to anyone at length on any subject. He had a complex sense of humour that often left you needing Wikipedia.

“He prided himself in his sartorial appearance, something that I was always jealous of. He was an engineer and a geek. But he was our geek. I speak for all his friends and anyone that ever had the privilege to meet him when I say Mike we love you and always will.

“A gentleman, a friend, a husband and a son.”

A neighbour said: “It’s a quiet residentia­l street but there have been car thefts here recently.

“Because it’s affl uent, people come from other parts of Manchester and target us.”

Another, Nabhan Nayyar, 22, said: “I heard a noise but because I hear that stuff every night – people coming back from the pubs drunk – I thought it was just common. I wish I could have aided the man because he was only 35.”

Michael, originally from Disley, Stockport, studied at Leeds University.

He did weapons technology and nuclear engineerin­g at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, Devon.

He served on submarines until 2014, then joined Atkins and had been working on a nuclear plant in Cumbria.

His parents in Disley and Jess’s parents in Mobberley, Cheshire, were too upset to talk.

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 ?? Pictures: LNP / CHRIS NEILL / MAVERICK, PA ?? The murder scene yesterday after Michael Samwell, left, was woken to fi nd his Audi, inset, being stolen
Pictures: LNP / CHRIS NEILL / MAVERICK, PA The murder scene yesterday after Michael Samwell, left, was woken to fi nd his Audi, inset, being stolen
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