
Henry Vincent died from a stab wound inflicted by pensioner Richard Osborn-Brooks

A pensioner judged to have ‘lawfully killed’ a burglar has been condemned to a life in hiding and had to change his identity for fears of reprisals from the travelling community, it has emerged.

Richard Osborn-Brooks, 79, used ‘proportionate force’ when he stabbed career criminal Henry Vincent with a 12-inch kitchen knife, a coroner ruled on Thursday.

But despite the victory, Mr Osborn-Brooks and his wife Maureen, 77, have been forced to leave their London home of 42 years and warned never to return.

Police fear members of Vincent’s travelling community could target the couple. They have new identities and live in a mystery location, and Mr Osborn-Brooks’s face was obscured when he gave evidence via videolink at an inquest into Vincent’s death in Southwark Coroner’s Court.

Coroner Andrew Harris ruled that Mr Osborn-Brooks ‘acted in self-defence’ after being terrified by two masked men who raided his home at night.

Scotland Yard was widely criticised after Mr Osborn-Brooks was arrested on suspicion of murdering Vincent hours after the burglary at his £500,000 home in Hither Green, south-east London, in April last year.

Mr Osborn-Brooks told the court on Thursday: 'My intention was to get [Vincent] out of the house and away from my wife.' The coroner has now ruled that Vincent was 'lawfully killed'.

After being arrested, Mr Osborn-Brooks and his wife faced death threats from Vincent’s associates and told they could never return to their home, which was put on the market for £100,000 under its market value last month. The 1920s terrace, which is still shuttered up, was quickly snapped up for £400,000 by a property developer.

Shrines to Vincent were put up just yards from the house, sparking further outrage. Sir Craig Mackey, then deputy commissioner of Scotland Yard, said he would not stop shrines being erected and described Vincent’s death as a ‘tragedy’.

The incident has echoes of the case of Tony Martin, who sparked a national debate in 1999 when he shot dead a teenager who was burgling his Norfolk home.

Mr Martin was released from prison in 2003 after his murder conviction was downgraded to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility.

Richard Osborn-Brooks, 79, (pictured) knifed career criminal Henry Vincent, 32, after he caught him breaking into his home in South Park Crescent, Hither Green, on April 4 last year. Mr Osborn-Brooks is giving evidence today by video link with the screen turned off

Mr Osborn-Brooks was woken in the early hours of April 4 by two men breaking into the 1920s terraced house in Hither Green

Rosie Vincent (left), the sister of Henry Vincent, arrives for his inquest at Southwark Coroner's Court in London. She attended alongside his mother Rose Lee (right).

Vincent's family (his mother is pictured today), who come from the traveller community, repeatedly left floral tributes to the dead burglar outside Mr Osborn-Brooks' home, before threatening to take his funeral procession past the property

Of Osborn-Brooks case, Senior Coroner Andrew Harris said today that the pensioner had used 'moderate force' to protect his elderly wife, who was at the top of the stairs.

The Detective Inspector in the case said Mr Osborn-Brooks was not prosecuted because he was protected by the self-defence law, to defend himself, his home and his wife.

Vincent was high on cocaine and heroin, wearing a balaclava and armed with a screwdriver when he broke into the property in the early hours.

Mr Osborn-Brooks gave evidence at the inquest today by video link, with the screen turned off.

He said two men knocked on his door, grabbed him and pushed him inside, with one shoving him toward the kitchen and the other running upstairs as they both demanded money.

He told the hearing Vincent then came down the stairs brandishing a screwdriver and said: 'Get out of my way or I'll stick you with this.'

Vincent, 37, collapsed in the street and later died in University Hospital Lewisham

Mr Osborn-Brooks replied: 'I think you're wrong because mine's bigger than yours and if you don't leave my house you'll be sorry. Get out of my house you b*****d or it will be the worse for you.'

Vincent's family, who come from the traveller community, repeatedly left floral tributes to the dead burglar outside Mr Osborn-Brooks' home, before threatening to take his funeral procession past the property.

Mr Osborn-Brooks and his wife Maureen were not allowed to return to their home after the incident for their own safety.

A statement issued by Mr Osborn-Brooke's legal team after the decision said the 79-year-old said he 'nevertheless regrets Mr Henry Vincent's loss of life in what were tragic circumstances.'

The statement added: 'Many families have been devastated by these events, particularly those left looking after Mr Vincent's young children.'

As he concluded the killing was lawful, Coroner Mr Harris said: 'I'm satisfied Mr Osborn-Brooks did pick up the knife deliberately and the reasons given was to tell the intruders to go away after the two had threatened his wife and asked for money and one had then gone to the cabinet upstairs to secure some valuables.

'The householder insists there was no intention to harm. He indicated surprise that he had actually stabbed the victim.

'He was a rational sensible man, he must have known the recognised risk of death of holding a sharp knife in the way he did.

'He had however no intention to use it. He would describe it as a reflexive action so death wasn't in mind.

Left Rose Lee, the mother of Henry Vincent, arrives at Southwark Coroner's Court. Right, his sister Rosie outside court

He continued: 'He explained to officers in the way his arm went forward in a positive manner and he said that he had stabbed him although the man was coming forward.

'The use of moderate force would seem to me to be proportionate. He clearly didn't know the gentleman who was in his house, it was hard to judge what to do.

'It seems to me the combination of unpredictability and fear in a stressful situation are factors that need to be taken into account when considering proportionality of the force that was used.'

Vincent, 37, fled the scene but collapsed in the street and later died in University Hospital Lewisham.

Burglar's sister denies he was violent Vincent's sister today denied her brother was violent, telling the inquest that he 'deserved to live.' Giving evidence today, Rosie Vincent was questioned by the coroner about whether she knew her brother would be going to the house in Hither Green. Senior coroner Andrew Harris said: 'Did you have any discussion with your brother about his going to this household? Did he know Mr Osborn-Brooks?' She replied: 'As far as I know, no.' The coroner continued: 'Was he a man of short temper or violence?' Ms Vincent said: 'My brother was not a violent person. He was a father, he was a son he was a brother. No-one deserves to die.' Asked if there was anything the family particularly wanted to come out of the hearing, she continued: 'Will we ever understand? Will we ever understand?' Mr Harris said: 'You want to understand as much as you can from these proceedings what happened?' Vincent's sister said: 'Yes, thank you very much'. Advertisement

Vincent's sister, who arrived at the inquest with her mother, told the hearing her late brother was 'not violent.'

Giving evidence, she said she did not know why he was at the property in Hither Green, adding: 'My brother was not a violent person.

'He was a father, he was a son he was a brother. No-one deserves to die.'

Vince's grieving relatives were given the opportunity to question Mr Osborn-Brooks but they chose not to.

Vincent's mother Rose Lee said: 'Everything we say and do is all taken out of proportion.

'Why did that gentleman not just stand back like a normal person would have done? But he didn't. He didn't stand back.

'How could the young man have lunged at this gentleman when the gentleman told you that he was squashed between the door and the stairs?'

Describing the break-in, Mr Osborn-Brooks revealed how he felt 'terrified' and 'helpless' when two men wearing balaclavas burst into his home.

The raiders had knocked on the door of his property - originally asking for help - before they made their way inside.

He said: 'Through the patterned frosted glass I could see a white face.

'I opened it and it turned out to be a masked man wearing a white grey balaclava with eye holes.

'He pushed the door open pushed me back grabbed hold of my right hand and my right arm and pushed me down and away towards the kitchen.

'The other man behind him ran upstairs to the bedrooms. Then he started yelling, 'give me money give me money we know you have got money'

'And I said 'we haven't got any in the house, we are pensioners, we haven't got any money', he said 'yes I know you have' and he pushed me into the kitchen.

'I said 'I have a heart condition I need my pills they are in a drawer over there I need my pills'.'

Mr Osborn-Brooks said after he grabbed the largest kitchen knife from a holder, Vincent's accomplice fled out the front door.

Mr Harris asked him: 'What was in your mind when you picked up the knife?'

Mr Osborn-Brooks replied: 'I just wanted to threaten him and make him go away.'

Vincent's family, who come from the traveller community, repeatedly left floral tributes to the dead burglar outside Mr Osborn-Brooks' home

The coroner, reading Mr Osborn-Brooks's police statement to him, said: 'You said, 'I think you're wrong because mine's bigger than yours and if you don't leave my house you will be sorry'.'

Mr Osborn-Brooks said: 'I was just showing him that the knife I had was actually bigger than the screwdriver.

'So if he was to lunge at me he would hit my knife rather than hit me first.

'I thought he would look at my knife and see it is bigger than his implement and he would take the opportunity to run out the front door, which was open.

Pensioner was not charged with murder under 'self-defence' law Detective Inspector Helen Rance, the investigating officer into the death of Henry Vincent, said Mr Osborn-Brooks was ultimately not prosecuted because he was protecting his home, using 'reasonable force'. She said the CPS was sent bodyworn footage and were aware of the inconsistency in the pensioner's accounts. Det Insp Rance said: 'There were different accounts and both were known to the CPS and part of discussions with the CPS.' Under the self-defence law, a person may use force 'as is reasonable in the circumstances' for the purposes of self-defence; defence of another; of property; or prevention of crime; or lawful arrest. The CPS found Mr Osborn-Brooks had not used grossly disproportionate force and so the decision was made not to charge. Mr Harris added: 'There has been a killing. 'I am satisfied that it is not an unlawful killing because of the state of the law and because of the circumstances.' Southwark Coroner Andrew Harris confirmed it was 'not an unlawful killing'. Advertisement

'My intention was to get him out of the house and away from my wife. I still think that Mr Vincent rushes forward intending to do me harm and he ran into the knife that I was holding between us.

'He definitely didn't try to get out of the front door, he came towards me.'

He denied intentionally stabbing the intruder saying he had 'run into' the knife.

The coroner went on to question Mr Osborn-Brooks about what he had told police officers after the incident. The officers had filmed his account on a body-mounted camera.

Mr Harris said: 'Body-cam footage shows you thrusting your arm forward in explaining what happened.

'That would mean there is a combination of his running toward you and your putting your arm forward. It's not a simple matter of just falling on a knife with your arm being stationary.'

Mr Osborn-Brooks, replied: 'I don't accept that I moved my arm forward because I was still stuck up against the wall. I was petrified.'

Giving evidence this afternoon, he added Vincent was holding a screwdriver at 'waist' height.

He told the coroner: 'I moved my body forward as I was stuck up to the wall and he was coming toward me.

'I was terrified, I couldn't move. I didn't know whether he was going to stick me with it. I have no recollection stabbing him.'

A pathologist told the hearing a 'sharp knife' was used with 'moderate force' to cause the fatal stab wound, while a post-mortem revealed that Vincent was 'experiencing the effects of cocaine and heroin' at the time of his death.

Dr Simon Poole, who carried out the post-mortem on Vincent, said: 'I concluded from toxicology tests that results are consistent with use of both cocaine and heroin.'

He added the amount of drugs was consistent with Vincent 'experiencing the effects' of them.

The coroner then heard a short clip of audio from Body Worn Footage taken from police officers' clothing on the night of the raid.

In May last year, trouble flared at the funeral of Vincent, with police forced to flood the streets around the picturesque St Mary's Church in Orpington, Kent, with up to 50 officers as a cordon put in place and a force helicopter called in to monitor the event

Family members swore at photographers from their cars and rocks were thrown at journalists before a mourner was arrested at Vincent's funeral

In it, Mr Osborn-Brooks can be heard telling officers: 'I said I have got to get my heart medication out of the drawer.

'He let me go and I went over and grabbed that knife out of the knife block and I threatened him with it and he ran out through the front door. When he got into the porch he picked up our green box and tried to hit me with it.

'He shut the door and yelled at his mate: 'get out quickly he's got a knife'.

Public's £15k bill for the funeral's police presence The heavy police presence at Henry Vincent's funeral is likely to have cost taxpayers around £15,000. Force helicopters circled above while more than 50 officers were on the ground to keep order around the church. Patrols were also sent to watch out for trouble outside Vincent's mother's house, where the cortege began, and in Hither Green, where he was stabbed to death. Costing around £800 an hour, a helicopter was up in the air from around 9am. It followed the cortege as it made the five-mile journey to the church, and hovered above monitoring the situation. As tensions escalated around St Mary Cray, another police aircraft joined. Around 50 officers – including at least two sergeants – also patrolled the perimeter of the Grade II listed St Mary's Church on foot, in three vans, and on motorbikes. And officers were stationed alongside an unmarked police car at the end of the road where Vincent's mother's house is for at least an hour before the cortege began its journey. Although funeral organisers had promised not to go to Hither Green, two officers in a police car were also positioned outside Richard Osborn-Brooks' house. Advertisement

'The mate came running down the stairs and he had a sharp implement in his hand.

'He said 'come near me and I'll stick you'.

'I said 'well mine is bigger than yours' and I stabbed him. It went in about four inches.'

But in a statement, a detective leading the investigation said Mr Osborn-Brooks had told her Vincent 'ran into his knife' and he did not intentionally stab him.

She arrested the pensioner for GBH but he was later released without charge.

A police officer called to the scene at Hither Green said he found three people standing in the road when he arrived and Vincent lying on the road.

The officer said he performed CPR for 15 minutes until the London Ambulance Service arrived. Vincent was taken by ambulance to hospital but pronounced dead at 3.47am, the coroner heard.

In May last year, trouble flared at the funeral of Vincent, with police forced to flood the streets around the picturesque St Mary's Church in Orpington, Kent, with up to 50 officers as a cordon put in place and a force helicopter called in to monitor the event.

The day had started relatively quietly, as the funeral procession left the family home and black limousines, adorned with floral tributes shaped like a BMW convertible, a caravan and a boxing ring, snaked through the streets of south-east London.

But the event soon turned nasty when members of the burglar's family - who have reportedly splashed £100,000 on the funeral - swore out of their car windows and rocks were thrown at photographers outside the church.

A group of mourners later decided to walk behind the hearse - and then charge at journalists, throwing bottles, stones and eggs.

Meanwhile, neighbours of pensioner Mr Osborn-Brooks blocked his road to prevent the procession coming anywhere near their homes.

'Gentle, friendly' ex-RAC man cared for his elderly wife and chipped in to help community's anti-burglary campaign but were driven out in aftermath of raid Richard Osborn-Brooks Retired RAC boss Richard Osborn-Brooks had lived with his wife Maureen on the suburban street in Hither Green for 42 years. He was described as a 'traditional Englishman' and was popular among neighbours after contributing towards a scheme to reduce burglary in the area. Tony Guest, who worked with Mr Osborn-Brooks in the 1970s at the offices of the RAC in Croydon, said he 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 of Mr Osborn-Brooks suggested he enjoyed games and puzzles such as solitaire, as well as socialising with friends. Neighbour Nick Myatt said at the time of the incident: '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.' Another said he was seen popping to the shops once a week but kept himself to himself and was 'as nice as pie'. But the couple's peaceful retirement came crashing down around them on a night in April last year. They were asleep upstairs in their £500,000 home when two men broke in. When Mr Osborn-Brooks went downstairs to see what was happening, he was shoved into his kitchen while the men went upstairs where Maureen, said to suffer from dementia, was alone. As a coroner heard today, a struggle ensued in which burglar Henry Vincent suffered stab wounds from which he later died. The life of Mr and Mrs Osborn-Brooks would never be the same. In the following weeks, they were caught up in whirlwind as the clan of the career criminal who died threatened reprisals. Associates of Vincent came to street and made shrines to him from flowers, pictures, cards and balloons. Mr and Mrs Osborn-Brooks quickly moved out of the home over fears of revenge attacks and removal men later arrived to collect all the belongings they had collected during their four decades in the property. Close friends said they had reluctantly accepted that they will have to sell the home. Speaking last year, a friend said: 'It's not safe. He's got what happened that night on his conscience for the rest of his life. He's never going to forget that he's killed someone. He's not a violent person. He's a really nice run of the mill guy.' The case sparked a row over the rights of people to protect themselves in their own homes. Local 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. In the aftermath of the Hither Green incident, the man who led the campaign to free Mr Martin from jail said it was 'disgusting' that Mr Osborn-Brooks was questioned by police. 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?' Advertisement

Householders and the use of force against intruders: Crown Prosecution Service and National Police Chiefs' Council issue guidance on what you can do The Crown Prosecution Service has issued guidance on what you can do if faced with an intruder inside your home, including whether you have to wait to be attacked and what you should do if the intruder dies. Guidance was issued by the CPS and National Police Chiefs' Council following public concern over the support offered by the law and confusion about householders defending themselves. What is reasonable force and will the law protect me? Anyone can use reasonable force to protect themselves or others, or to carry out an arrest or to prevent crime. You are not expected to make fine judgments over the level of force you use in the heat of the moment. What amounts to disproportionate force? The force you use must always be reasonable in the circumstances as you believe them to be. It can be disproportionate if you are acting in extreme circumstances in the heat of the moment and don’t have a chance to think about exactly how much force would be necessary to repel the intruder. Do I have to wait to be attacked? No, not if you are in your own home and in fear for yourself or others. In those circumstances the law does not require you to wait to be attacked before using defensive force yourself. What if the intruder dies? If you have acted in reasonable self-defence, as described above, and the intruder dies you will still have acted lawfully. Indeed, there are several such cases where the householder has not been prosecuted. However, if you further hurt or kill someone and were not acting in reasonable self-defence you would be acting with very excessive and gratuitous force and could be prosecuted. What if I chase them as they run off? This situation is different as you are no longer acting in self-defence and so the same degree of force may not be reasonable. However, you are still allowed to use reasonable force to recover your property and make a citizen's arrest. Advertisement