Henry Vincent sister denies he was a ‘violent person’ at his inquest
Sister of burglar, 37, stabbed to death by a homeowner during a break-in denies that he was a ‘violent person’ as she tells his inquest that ‘no-one deserves to die’
- Henry Vincent, 37, died after breaking into home of Richard Osborn-Brooks, 78
- Mr Osborn-Brooks was woken in early hours by two men burgling his property
- Fought them off and Vincent fled scene but later collapsed and died in hospital
- Mr Osborn-Brooks was arrested on suspicion of murder but later released
- Vincent’s sister today told an inquest into his death her brother was ‘not violent’
Henry Vincent was stabbed and died following a burglary in Hither Green in April, 2018
The sister of a burglar stabbed to death by a homeowner has denied at his inquest today that he was a ‘violent person’ and said: ‘no-one deserves to die’.
Henry Vincent, 37, died after breaking into the south east London home of Richard Osborn-Brooks, then 78, last year.
Giving evidence at Southwark Coroner’s Court today, Rosie Vincent said: ‘My brother was not a violent person.’
Mr Osborn-Brooks was woken in the early hours of April 4 by two men breaking into the 1920s terraced house in Hither Green.
He fought off the burglars and Vincent fled the scene but collapsed in the street and later died in University Hospital Lewisham.
Mr Osborn-Brooks was initially arrested on suspicion of murder but later released and told by police he would face no further action.
Left Rose Lee, the mother of Henry Vincent, arrives at Southwark Coroner’s Court. Right, his sister Rosie outside court
The pensioner and his wife Maureen were not allowed to return to their home after the incident for their own safety.
Giving evidence, Ms 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’.
Mr Osborn-Brooks was woken in the early hours of April 4 by two men breaking into the 1920s terraced house in Hither Green
A police officer based in a response team to Lewisham police station told the inquest he was called to the scene at Hither Green on April 4 last year at around 12.45am.
He said he found three people standing in the road when he arrived and another man – Vincent – lying on the road.
When his t-shirt was lifted, one puncture wound to the upper right hand side of the chest was discovered, it was said.
PC Hickey said: ‘As soon as we got to him we called for the LAS straight away. He was clearly injured.’
The officer said CPR was performed by himself 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.
The inquest continues.
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