Fashion boss arrested af ter ‘intruder with baseball bat dies in raid’ at £2m home
Victim was airlifted to hospital by helicopter pilot Prince William
A MILLIONAIRE former fashi on chain executive i s being i nvestigated by murder detectives after an alleged i ntruder was f atally i njured at his converted farmhouse.
Richard Glanville, the ex-chief financial officer for Oasis, Warehouse and Coast, was arrested after trying to defend himself from a man who broke into the property with a baseball bat, neighbours claimed.
A second man, believed to be his gardener, was also arrested after Ricci Gallagher suffered head injuries in the skirmish at the £2million property. Delivery
‘He was the most inoffensive man’
driver Mr Gallagher lived half a mile from Mr Glanville in a wooden shack which was destroyed by a fire just minutes earlier.
Prince William, working for the East Anglia Air Ambulance, helped airlift Mr Gallagher, 46, to hospital after the incident last month, but he died a week later.
Police said they were called to reports of an injured man at the house on a quiet country road in Little Burstead, Essex, 15 minutes after the fire was reported at 9.20am on July 30.
Two men were arrested at the scene on suspicion of the attempted murder of Mr Gallagher and have since been released on police bail until next month. Detectives said the investigation, which is now a murder inquiry, was being linked to the fire.
Neighbours claimed Mr Glanville, 60, and his gardener tried to remove Mr Gallagher after he broke into the former farmhouse.
Margaret Bryan, 66, who lives close by, said: ‘I was here at the time and the whole stretch of road was filled with police and fire engines. I heard that Ricci had gone into the house with a baseball bat and started smashing the place up. He was being aggressive and they must have tried to stop him.
‘I think the other man was the gardener as he is round there almost all the time.’
She added: ‘ Everyone has the right to protect their home from intruders. If you can’t do that, what can you do? It’s very rural round here and someone breaking into your home must be terrifying. I saw the fire – the place is completely burned down and at the moment it’s a complete mystery as to how it started and how it’s all connected.
‘If he thought that his neighbour had set fire to it and he went down to the house to get revenge, then I think he was probably mistaken.’
Mrs Bryan described Mr Glanville, who has two children from his first marriage and two step- children with his second wife, as a ‘lovely man’. She added: ‘He has labradors and we’ve occasionally stopped to chat about the dogs as mine always go missing and turn up near his house. It’s such a shame to hear what’s gone on.’
Mr Glanville’s horrified wife, Tina, discovered the crime scene as she returned home on the evening of his arrest and fled down the road to a neighbour in shock. The neighbour said: ‘Her husband had called her and said: “Someone’s tried to come up here and run in the house with a baseball bat.”
‘She arrived when the police were there and they had cordoned the place off, and she ran to ours.’
The neighbour said he did not believe the Glanvilles had any connection to Mr Gallagher or had previously met him.
A family friend and neighbour, who did not wish to be named, added: ‘Richard is a lovely, lovely man. The other man involved was the gardener. ‘It’s terrible what’s happened.’ Mr Gallagher is believed to have moved to the shack, which had no electricity, only a week before the fire. The wooden bungalow and surrounding three acres of land had recently been advertised for sale for £400,000 as a potential development, although it was not clear if anyone had bought it. Three crews of 15 firefighters spent 90 minutes tackling the blaze.
They found several cars, fireworks and gas cylinders in the blazing one- storey cabin nestled in the woods. Fire investigators said they had not ruled out arson.
Detective Inspector Anne Cameron, of Essex Police, said: ‘I believe both incidents are linked and I am keen to speak with anyone who could progress either enquiry.’
Mr Gallagher previously lived in Benfleet, Essex, with his wife Linda, 58, who worked for the Royal Mail. One of his former neighbours, Joyce Long, 85, said it ‘broke her heart’ when she heard he had died.
She said: ‘He was the most inoffensive man – too inoffensive really. I just can’t see him going for two men.’
She added that Mr Gallagher did charity work as a driver for an Essex hospital.
Mr Glanville is believed to own several properties, i ncluding a 16-bedroom hotel in the Maldives. Until 2013, he was chief finance officer for Aurora Fashions which was the holding company f or fashion brands including Oasis and Warehouse.
Essex Police confirmed a 60-yearold man, of Billericay, Essex, and a 53- year- old man, of Basildon, Essex, were originally arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
A spokesman added: ‘Since the man has died, a murder investigation is under way. They have been bailed in connection with the incident but there will be no rearrests or charges while investigations are still ongoing and until they answer bail on September 4.’
An inquest into Mr Gallagher’s death was opened on August 12.
A spokesman for East Anglia Air Ambulance said: ‘I can confirm that Prince William was the copilot during the rescue callout to an address near Little Burstead in Essex on July 30.’