Car thief faces life in jail for running over ex-Navy hero

A BURGLAR who murdered an ex-Royal Navy officer while stealing his car is facing life behind bars when he is sentenced today.

Ryan Gibbons, 29, took the Audi S3 from outside the house of former submarine engineer Mike Samwell, 35, in April.

The sound of Gibbons stealing the car woke Mr Samwell, who raced out to stop him.

In his bid to get away, Gibbons twice ran over Mr Samwell with his own vehicle in the driveway of the home in Chorlton, Manchester.

During the three-week murder trial at Manchester Crown Court, jurors heard Mr Samwell’s weeping widow Jessica, 34, tell of her horror at seeing the car’s rear wheels sitting on her husband’s chest before it sped away.

Yesterday, jurors took less than four hours to find the father-of-four guilty of murdering the engineering firm worker. Gibbons had admitted Mike Samwell, left, and killer Gibbons burglary and aggravated but denied murder.

He will be sentenced today along with his accomplice Raymond Davies, 21, of Manchester, who admitted burglary but was convicted of manslaughter and taking a vehicle without consent.

Two others with the pair at the time have not been caught by police.

Last night, the victim’s family praised their lost “hero”, stressing the verdicts left them with “a mixture of sadness and relief”. vehicletaking