By Charlotte Webster-
Persistent burglar offender, Ryan Gibbons, has been caged for at least 27 years in prison for twice running over a former Royal Navy officer in a botched house burglary, in the presence of his wife.
The 29 year old maniac, reversed over 35 year old Michael Samwell, then drove over him a second time as the former serviceman tried to protect his £36,000 Audi S3 sports car from being stolen by the selfish thief as his wife helplessly watched. Samwell’s murder has wrecked his family, who have had to pick up the pieces of an horrendous act of evil carried out by a man who can be said to be a mistake for a human being.
Davies, 21, who drove Gibbons to the address to steal the car, was sentenced to eight years after being convicted of manslaughter, burglary and taking a vehicle without consent. He drove a wicked human being to a destination where he would waste a man’s life just because he wouldn’t let him have his car. Samwell’s blood is also on Davies’s hands, who will have this on his conscience for the rest of his life too.
Michael Samwell and his wife were burgled in their house in Chorlton, South Manchester, during which Gibbons snatched the keys to the car from the kitchen table.Samwell responded instinctively by rushing outside in his boxer shorts to confront the burgler and defend his belonging. He shouted “Get out of the car!”, and was followed by his wife who saw him go under the wheels as Gibbons sped off.
Gibbons had denied murder but admitted manslaughter. He argued that he did not realise he had run over Samwell, despite the fact Samwell’s cries could be heard by neighbours and a CCTV camera some distance away. So evil was this crime thatthe painful memories will unfortunately stay with Samwell’s wife for the rest of her life. Witnessing such a horrible murder of one’s family can cause serious post traumatic stress, and it is believed she will receive some compensation from the UK Government
The poor woman held her husband’s hands and told him she loved him as he lay dying from “catastrophic” chest and heart injuries
Not long before the verdict was read, Samwell’s wife Jessica, read a moving statement to the court speaking of her “overwhelming grief for the future we will never have” as she watched her husband die.
COPE
She told the judge that she had been unable to return to work or the home they shared, saying: “The stark reminder of what happened on that night felt like too much to cope with. In a moving statement made to the court from the dock shortly before the verdict, she said:
“It feels like no one will ever understand. The last image I have of Mike lying on the ground, groaning in pain, holding his hand will stay with me for the rest of my life. “The man who meant more to me than anything in the world had been mindlessly and brutally killed.”
GASPS
Gibbons did not react to the verdict, but there were odd gasps from his family in the public gallery. One shouted out: “You’re joking”, and his father shouted “Love you, son” as he was taken down to the cells at Manchester crown court. Why anyone was surprised or disappointed at the verdict was difficulkt to understand, Gib
“It feels like no one will ever understand. The last image I have of Mike lying on the ground, groaning in pain, holding his hand will stay with me for the rest of my life.
“The man who meant more to me than anything in the world had been mindlessly and brutally killed.”
Sentencing Gibbons to a life sentence with a minimum tariff of 27 years, Mr Justice William Davis told Gibbons: “He was killed in front of her eyes and died as she was holding his hand on the driveway of his own home.
“You are a dangerous young man, you are a regular burglar and on this occasion, to get what you wanted, you quite ruthlessly killed a man.”
Gibbons had denied murder but admitted manslaughter, insisting that he did not realise he had run over Samwell.
But the jury did not believe him and found him guilty of murder, having heard evidence of how Samwell’s cries could be heard by neighbours and a CCTV camera some distance away.
The court had been given a sumamry of Gibbons criminal history, to get a full picture of the animal he is. The monster had a string of previous convictions dating to 2007, when he was given a community order for a burglary.
He was also convicted of common assault and “dishonesty offences”, between 2008 and 2011.
In February 2015, he spent 12 months behind bars for an attempted burglary. In January of this year, three months before he killed Samwell, he was handed a community order after he was caught stealing wallets and phones at the Isle of White festival.
Samwell did not deserve to die the way he did. Nobody does. Burglers are selfish and mindless individuals with no conscience or principles at all. Parliament should consider increasing the sentence for burglary, it is a really terrifying offence that can haunt victims who even survive a burglary. Samwell had worked for his property and had the right to fight for it. Nobody has the right to take another person’s property without their permission. Whatever money he hoped to gain by stealing the car, he will never enjoy. Instead, he will spend a life sentence in jail, hopefully having nightmares of the stupidity and wickedness of his crime.
“It feels like no one will ever understand. The last image I have of Mike lying on the ground, groaning in pain, holding his hand will stay with me for the rest of my life.
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“The man who meant more to me than anything in the world had been mindlessly and brutally killed.”
Handing Gibbons a life sentence with a minimum tariff of 27 years, Mr Justice William Davis told Gibbons: “He was killed in front of her eyes and died as she was holding his hand on the driveway of his own home.
“You are a dangerous young man, you are a regular burglar and on this occasion, to get what you wanted, you quite ruthlessly killed a man.”
Gibbons had denied murder but admitted manslaughter, insisting that he did not realise he had run over Samwell.
But the jury did not believe him and found him guilty of murder, having heard evidence of how Samwell’s cries could be heard by neighbours and a CCTV camera some distance away.
The court heard Gibbons had a string of previous convictions dating to 2007, when he was given a community order for a burglary.
He was also convicted of common assault and “dishonesty offences”, between 2008 and 2011.
In February 2015, he spent 12 months behind bars for an attempted burglary. In January of this year, three months before he killed Samwell, he was handed a community order after he was caught stealing wallets and phones at the Isle of White festival.
Davies, 21, who drove Gibbons to the address to steal the car, was sentenced to eight years after being convicted of manslaughter, burglary and taking a vehicle without consent.