Cocaine-fuelled plot that ended in tragedy

THE break-in that ended in Michael Samwell’s murder was the result of a drug-fuelled plan by Ryan Gibbons and his three accomplices.

The 29-year-old, who worked as a concrete-layer and has a string of burglary related convictions, had spotted Mr Samwell’s Audi S3 car while looking for targets around Chorlton, Manchester.

The area is popular with young professionals for its lively bar and cafe scene – but their expensive cars have made the neighbourhood a target for burglars.

Gibbons claimed he had been walking around his estate looking to buy cannabis when he was met by accomplice Raymond Davies, 21, and two other men. At some point Gibbons suggested Mr Samwell’s Audi S3 was a ‘nice car to steal’.

The stolen cars are stripped and sold for parts or exported, frequently to Eastern Europe. Alternatively, the vehicles are used as getaway cars for robberies. Davies drove the group to the Samwells’ house, where Gibbons, who had snorted cocaine, loitered outside. He smoked a cigarette as the accomplices – whom he and Davies refused to identify – broke in.

The cigarette end proved vital evidence in the hunt for Mr Samwell’s killers, as did traces of DNA Gibbons left on the Audi’s steering wheel. Gibbons – son of an NHS worker and council clerk – admitted Mr Samwell’s death was his fault but claimed he did not know how to drive the car because it was an automatic.

Prolific cannabis smoker Davies, who has two drug-dealing convictions, picked up Gibbons and drove him home. He was incriminated by mobile phone calls between the pair and CCTV of his car.

Davies was picked up by police within 24 hours of the crime and re-arrested a month later. Gibbons was arrested four days after the killing, in Glenrothes. Cautioned by officers, the cocksure thief replied: ‘Murder? You mean suspicion of murder, don’t you?’