OAP warned armed burglar 'my knife's bigger than yours' before stabbing him to death during house raid, court hears

A PENSIONER who stabbed an armed burglar to death warned him "my knife's bigger than yours" just moments after they stormed his house, an inquest heard today.

Richard Osborn-Brooks, 78, told career criminal Henry Vincent "get out of my house you b*****d or it will be the worse for you" after the 37-year-old pushed into his Hither Green, South London, home with a screwdriver last April.

Giving a statement to police after the confrontation, Mr Osborn-Brooks said two men with balaclavas knocked on his door and charged inside on the night of April 4.

In an audio recording played to the London Inner South Coroner's Court, Mr Osborn-Brooks can be heard telling officers he managed to trick the men after they cornered him.

Mr Osborn-Brooks told cops: "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'.

"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."

In the interview, the elderly man told cops he said to Vincent: "Get out of my house you b*****d or it will be the worse for you."

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

The inquest heard Mr Osborn-Brooks had grabbed the largest knife from the block – a 12-inch French steel design – and stabbed Vincent in the heart.

The OAP, who lived in the home with his wife Maureen, told police he had not wanted to hurt the burglar, only threaten him.

Mr Osborn-Brooks added: "I thought he would look at my knife and would see it was bigger than his implement and he would take the opportunity to run out the front door.

"My intention was only to get him out of the house and away from my wife."

Vincent staggered from the OAP couple's semi-detached, three-bedroom home on South Park Crescent suffering a stab wound to his upper body.

The pensioner was initially arrested on suspicion of murder but was later released without charge.

Mr Osborn-Brooks himself today appeared via videolink from behind a screen, telling the court he could not remember pushing the knife forwards.

Questioned over whether he thought Vincent would use the screwdriver to stab him, Mr Osborn Brooks replied: "I would have said it was unlikely for a normal person but I did not know what was in his mind.

"He doesn’t take the chance and get out of the (open) front door. He came towards me."

The court was told Mr Osborn-Brooks had fenced while serving in the army.

WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT?

Police were called to the scene about 12.45am, finding three people standing in the road and Vincent lying on the ground.

When his t-shirt was lifted, one puncture wound to the upper right hand side of the chest was discovered, the inquest heard.

The inquest heard an autopsy found Vincent had traces of "heroin and cocaine" in his system at the time of his death.

Vincent was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead at 3.47am.

He died of blood loss from a single puncture wound to the heart.

Sister Rosie Vincent, who attended the inquest with mum Rose-Lee, today told the inquest: "My brother was not a violent person. He was a father, he was a son, he was a brother.

"No one deserves to die."

And asked what she wanted to come out of the proceedings, she added: "Will we ever truly understand?"

Senior coroner Andrew Harris told London Inner South Coroner's Court this morning said he had decided Mr Osborn-Brooks would give evidence via videolink to recount what happened the night of the break in.

The OAP and his wife no longer live at the Hither Green home.

My brother was not a violent person. He was a father, he was a son, he was a brother

Mr Osborn-Brooks' arrest had sparked a public outcry, with thousands of pounds raised in support of him.

Meanwhile, Vincent's friends and family outraged locals in the usually quiet neighbourhood by laying flowers and cards opposite the then-boarded-up house.

The tributes were repeatedly torn down by neighbours and well-wishers angry that the career criminal was being remembered in such a way.

Vincent’s loved ones have allegedly been planning a hit on him ever since with sources claiming the pensioner will “have a price on his head for life."

They added: "They don't care that it was self-defence.

"They see it as one of their own being killed and they want to even the score."

The inquest continues.

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