Man Who Tore Down Shrine To Dead Burglar Sends Warning To His Family

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A vigilante who ripped down a shrine of Henry Vincent has now warned his family ‘we wont stop until it’s gone.’

37-year-old Vincent died while allegedly trying to burgle the Hither Green home of ex-RAC manager and security guard Richard Osborn-Brooks.

The 78-year-old pensioner was reportedly threatened with a screwdriver after he investigated the intrusion. Vincent was fatally stabbed following a struggle in the kitchen.

Vincent was found by paramedics collapsed outside the property ‘covered in blood.’ He was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead at 3.37am.

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The vigilante, who uses the alias Cecil Coley, was so infuriated by a floral shrine being laid for the ‘career burglar’ outside the home of Osborn-Brooks, he tore the tributes down and took them to a local graveyard – he now has a message for Vincent’s family.

Speaking with the Sun Online, Coley declared:

Every time they put the flowers up, they will be taken down. Someone will remove them as soon as they go up. They are riling the neighbours here and doing it on purpose.

There’s a lot of people who want to take them down. I heard about the flowers on Nick Ferrari’s radio show.

I went past in the morning and saw they had been taken down but when I came back later I saw they had gone up again.

Richard Osborn-Brooks/Facebook

He continued:

It was a spur of the moment thing [cutting them down]. I did it on my own as it’s an insult to Richard. Police never said anything to me or anyone putting them up in the first place.

They don’t have to put the flowers up by his house. Why don’t they do it where they live? They are putting them on a private fence and a public highway.

Police should stop them because this is now causing a disturbance of the peace.

Drop all charges against Richard Osborn-Brooks/Facebook

Osborn-Brooks, who hasn’t returned to his home since, was arrested and questioned on suspicion of murder. However, he’s been released and will not be facing any further action.

Following Vincent’s death, dozens of tributes were left by his friends and family, much to the anger of some residents. These tributes included flowers, balloons and notes with affectionate messages such as ‘you’ll be missed and ‘I love you.’

A card from one of Vincent’s daughters read:

They don’t know what they’re on about, they only know what they read, but I will try my hardest to get people to understand who you really was. [sic]

Sorry dad that I wasn’t with you and tell you that everything was going to be alright, you must have been frightened by yourself.

I’ll stand up for you dad, I won’t let you down ‘cos I know you wouldn’t let me down.

Coley told UNILAD:

When I read online that the scene of crime where Henry Vincent died happened to be the same road as where Richard Osborn-Brooks lived, and the Vincent family and friends had been placing flowers for memorial, I found it disrespectful towards law abiding good samaritans, so I just decided to go there myself and see it.

The thought of removing flowers came later.

Vincent’s family have already returned for the third time to restore the shrine after it was once again destroyed by Coley.

Richard Osborn-Brooks/Facebook

If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via [email protected].

Julia Banim

Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.