HELD FOR MURDER... DEFENDING HIS WIFE AND HOME
Pensioner, 78, ‘fatally stabs burglar in his kitchen’
A PENSIONER was held on suspicion of murder yesterday after confronting an armed burglar who broke in as he and his disabled wife were sleeping.
In a case that will reignite the debate about the rights of homeowners to defend themselves,
Richard Osborn-Brooks, 78, was in bed with his wife when two raiders burst in just after midnight yesterday.
The homeowner was marched into the kitchen of their suburban £500,000 home by one man carrying a screwdriver, while his accomplice went upstairs to ransack the property as his wife Maureen, 76, who is said to have dementia, lay defenceless and terrified.
A struggle ensued in the kitchen and the 38-year-old intruder was stabbed in the chest as Mr Osborn-Brooks grappled with him in an apparent attempt to take the weapon and protect himself and his wife.
Bleeding heavily, the robber then tried to flee. But he collapsed in a pool of blood after staggering 250 yards from the front door of the end-of-terrace property in Hither Green, South-East London. The second burglar, who police say was also armed, fled in a van, leaving his accomplice for dead after trying unsuccessfully to bundle him into the getaway vehicle. After Mr Osborn- Brooks was arrested, neighbour Clem Williams said: ‘The man has a right to defend his home. They should let him go. My personal opinion is why were the men
at his house?’ As local residents said there had been a spate of burglaries in the area recently, Neighbourhood Watch member Sylbourne Sydial said: ‘A man should be able to defend his home. It’s not as if to say he had a cutlass or a machete or a knife. Your home is your castle and I believe your neighbourhood is your kingdom.’
In a notorious previous case, Norfolk farmer Tony Martin was jailed for life for murder after shooting a 16-year-old burglar in the back at his home in 1999.
Since then ministers have toughened up protection for householders. In England and Wales they can use ‘disproportionate force’ to challenge an intruder in their home, which could include the use of lethal force.
Last night the man who led the campaign to free Mr Martin from jail said it was ‘disgusting’ that another pensioner was being questioned on suspicion of murder.
Malcolm Starr said: ‘First he’s hustled by two men into his kitchen where he fights for his life and then he finds himself facing a murder charge. It’s just not right. What happened to the premise that an Englishman’s home is his castle?’
Police were called to Mr OsbornBrooks’s home at 12.45am yesterday and arrived minutes later.
Officers and paramedics attempted to save the burglar, who was stripped of his clothes as they tried to stem the bleeding from a single wound. He was taken to hospital but died at 3.37am.
Yesterday shocked locals on the quiet road told how they had been woken by the moans of the wounded intruder. Gordon Williams, 44, said: ‘I had just gone to bed and I heard moaning and groaning. At first I thought this man was drunk, but when I looked out of the window, I saw a white Vauxhall Astra van pulled up beside him.
‘A black man was saying to the guy on the ground, “Come on, get in the van”. He was trying to drag him but it wasn’t working.
‘The black guy then looked up to my window and saw me, so he ran back into the van and drove off. My wife heard the clang of metal on the ground and saw him throw something out of the van’s window.
‘The man on the ground was white and was bleeding heavily from his chest. The wound was an inch long. I think that it was a knife.’
Police were unable to confirm whether the suspect had been stabbed with the screwdriver.
Mr Osborn-Brooks, who suffered bruising to his arms, was later led away in handcuffs.
He was initially arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm but was then arrested on suspicion of murder after the man died.
Last night friends described their shock at his arrest, describing him as a ‘gentle’ retired RAC office manager who was devoted to his wife and was a ‘typical English gentleman’.
Tony Guest, 69, who worked with him in the 1970s at the offices of the RAC in Croydon, said Mr Osborn-Brooks was an office manager in the membership department, but had been ‘more of a friend than a boss’.
‘He was gentle and very intelligent, probably too intelligent for the job he was doing then,’ he added. ‘He was never rowing or shouting at people. He was a very calm person. He used to play chess, he always liked his games.’
Pictures on Facebook suggest Mr Osborn-Brooks enjoys games and puzzles such as solitaire, as well as socialising with friends.
Neighbour Nick Myatt said: ‘He’s a lovely old man and he cares for his wife who I think has dementia or is disabled. He’s a nice man, nice to talk to. He’s an old man – it’s a shame really.
‘I hope the law sees sense and lets him off. I don’t think it’s right.’
A neighbour who had done building work for Mr Osborn-Brooks said: ‘He’s retired, but a nice guy, keeps himself to himself and goes out shopping once a week and that’s about it. Nice as pie.’
Others said that Mr OsbornBrooks had lived on the road for more than 20 years and was a friendly face at street parties, although his frail wife was seldom seen outside the house.
Residents said they had to take measures to protect their homes following recent burglaries, relying on Neighbourhood Watch patrols and beefing up security on gates and alleyways at the rear of properties to deter opportunist thieves.
Adam Lake, who lives near the scene, said: ‘When I heard it was a burglary I wasn’t surprised, there’s been a noticeable increase in crime. We’ve even had to put up CCTV at home because we didn’t feel safe.’
Mr Lake added: ‘Such an awful event, I feel terrible for the man that was burgled.
‘He doesn’t deserve to be punished for defending himself, and the neighbours that I’ve spoken to all agree that the priority needs to be to support him after everything that he’s been through. He was just protecting himself after all.’
Mr Williams, 58, a martial arts instructor who has lived on the road for 20 years, said: ‘It’s a very quiet road, normally we do not get police incidents down this road.
‘There are a lot of older people on this road so I was quite surprised to hear about this. I’ve been here 20 years and most people get on with others round here.’
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: ‘The homeowner suffered bruising to his arms. His injuries are not life threatening.
‘The homeowner was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and further arrested on suspicion of murder.’
‘It’s such an awful event’