A man has been arrested over the death of a former Royal Navy officer who was run over with his own car after confronting thieves outside his home.

Michael Samwell, 35, and his wife were woken by a loud bang outside their home in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester, at about 3am on Sunday, police said.



The former navy engineer raced downstairs to disturb the thieves but suffered fatal injuries when they sped off in his black Audi S3. Reports on Monday said Jessica Samwell, an accountant, witnessed the incident in which her husband was killed.

Det Supt Jon Chadwick from Greater Manchester police’s serious crime division said: “We have arrested a 21-year-old man in connection with Mike Samwell’s senseless murder. Our investigation is still in its early stages and we are still appealing for the public to help us. My thoughts continue to be with Mike’s family and friends at this devastating time.”

Officers are specifically interested in speaking to anyone who saw a blue five-door BMW 1 Series in the area, which it is believed was used by the offenders after the incident.

Police believe Samwell was run over at least once as he tried to prevent the theft of his car. Ambulance crews tended to him in the parking area at the back of his house before he was taken to hospital, where he died about an hour later.

The vehicle was later found abandoned three miles away in Whitby Avenue, Ladybarn, with extensive damage.

Chadwick described the crime as the murder of an innocent man who “merely sought to protect his property from criminals”. He said the force had received lots of information and support from the public.

“We have now identified a blue BMW that was in the area, which we think was used by the offenders to flee the scene and I’m asking the public again to have a think if they saw a blue BMW driving erratically in the area,” he said.

“We have set up a DropBox link for anyone who may have caught anything on CCTV or dashcams to send us their footage. You may not think what you know is important, but it could be vital to our investigation.”

Friends paid tribute to the former engineer they described as “one in a million”, as neighbours in the affluent suburb reacted with shock to the killing.

A neighbour who lived opposite Samwell said it was the second Audi stolen from the street in a month. “It’s a really quiet residential street; it’s not the sort of thing that you would expect to happen, but there have been car thefts before on the street,” said the neighbour, who would give his name only as John.

“Because it’s a nice area, it’s an affluent area, people will come in unfortunately and people do come in from other parts of Manchester and target us.”

Samwell trained as a naval officer at Dartmouth naval college in Devon and spent about a decade in the service before leaving in 2014. His wife and family have been left devastated by his death, police said.

Samwell graduated from the University of Leeds before working in a number of roles for the Royal Navy, including onboard a nuclear attack submarine as a weapons officer, according to his LinkedIn page.

Since leaving the forces he had worked as a programme manager for the engineering company Atkins in Warrington, Cheshire. An Atkins spokesman said: “This is a tragic event and our thoughts go out to Mike’s family, friends and colleagues. We will support the family in any way we can.”