A 78-year-old homeowner in England was arrested after he stabbed and killed a 37-year-old armed burglar.
Richard Osborn-Brooks and his wife Maureen were resting in their home when Henry Vincent and another man trespassed on their property. Vincent did not leave the home alive, and the second man is still on the run, Daily Mail reported.
Osborn-Brooks was first arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm, and then arrested again on suspicion of murder, according to The Independent. He has since been released, but is awaiting the completion of a murder investigation, according to Daily Mail.
“Henry suffered a stab wound to the upper body. He was taken by the London Ambulance Service to a central London hospital where he was pronounced dead at 3:37 a.m. local time. A post-mortem examination has given a provisional cause of death as a stab wound,” said London’s police force in a statement, reported Daily Mail.
Vincent was dragged to his getaway van by his accomplice, but was then left for dead, according to The Independent.
Vincent is a career criminal from a crime family. He’s in a gang with his father and five of his uncles. Many of his family members have served prison sentences — mainly for deceiving the elderly out of money, Daily Mail reported. Vincent was on a most wanted list in Kent, England, after an earlier burglary.
Locals have said that Osborn-Brooks was seeking to protect his wife and shouldn’t be charged with murder.
“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. I hope the law sees sense and lets him off. I don’t think it’s right,” Nick Myatt, a neighbor, said via Daily Mail.
“He deserves a medal. You can’t break into people’s houses, especially when he’s a carer for his wife and they were in bed. This is a pensioner who has worked all his life and wants to live and die quietly,” said Val Barclay, a local, via Daily Mail.
“So this is British justice is it? Where is our protection? The old man deserves a medal and to be let free. Now you know why America has guns,” said Tony Guest, a friend of Osborn-Brooks, via Daily Mail.
