Traveller brothers who murdered two pensioners are jailed
Traveller, 29, who robbed two pensioners, 87 and 88, before beating them to death in their own homes is given two life sentences as his brother is jailed for 25 years
- Two Traveller brothers who murdered two Staffordshire pensioners in separate robberies have been jailed
- Amos Wilsher has been given two life sentences for the murders of Arthur Gumbley and Josephine Kaye
- Jason Wilsher was jailed for life at Coventry Crown Court for murdering the murder of Mr Gumbley
- Arthur Gumbley was found in a pool of blood and rushed to hospital where he died of his wounds
- Josephine Kaye was attacked when one of the brothers posed as a gas firm worker and later died
Two Traveller brothers who murdered two Staffordshire pensioners after separate violent robberies three years apart have been jailed.
Serial burglar Amos Wilsher, 29, has been given two life sentences with a 38-year minimum term for the murders of Arthur Gumbley and Josephine Kaye.
His younger brother Jason Wilsher was jailed for life at Coventry Crown Court with a minimum term of 25 years for the murder of Mr Gumbley, who died in hospital three weeks after being punched and kicked at his home in Little Aston, near Sutton Coldfield.
The 23-year-old was also sentenced to concurrent terms of 12 and five years for conspiracy to rob and wounding with intent respectively.
Passing sentence at Coventry Crown Court, Mr Justice Henshaw said Amos Wilsher, who has links to Derbyshire and Leicestershire, was responsible for a planned series of robberies targeting elderly and vulnerable victims in 2017 and 2020.
The murder of 88-year-old Mrs Kaye in Stoke-on-Trent had involved the use of ‘cruel violence inflicted on a slight and vulnerable’ pensioner, the judge said.
Imposing concurrent terms of 15 years and six years for conspiracy to rob and wounding, the judge added: ‘Your murders are mitigated by your lack of intention to kill… which has played a part in my decision not to make a whole life order.’
The travellers burst into Mr Gumbley’s £700,000 bungalow in Little Aston and repeatedly punched and kicked him as he lay helplessly on the ground. He was also dragged across the floor, suffering carpet burns to his back and had a watch forcibly pulled from his wrist, skinning the flesh from his hand.
The OAP, known as Bob, was found in a pool of blood and rushed to hospital where he was treated for severe bruising to his left eye, neck, chest, hands and right arm.
Police released shocking pictures of Mr Gumbley’s injuries as he lay in his hospital bed before he passed away from his injuries.
Amos Wilsher then acted alone when he viciously attacked Mrs Kaye at her home in Stoke-on-Trent in February 2020.
He posed as a gas firm worker to remove a padlock from a gate before attacking Mrs Kaye and stealing her safe containing £20,000. The OAP was thrown to the ground and threatened with a screwdriver. She suffered a broken leg and significant bruising and later died of her injuries in hospital three weeks later on March 17.
Serial burglar Amos Wilsher (left) has been given two life sentences with a 38-year minimum term for the murders of Arthur Gumbley and Josephine Kaye. His younger brother Jason Wilsher (right) was jailed for life at Coventry Crown Court with a minimum term of 25 years for the murder of Mr Gumbley, who died in hospital three weeks after being punched and kicked at his home in Little Aston, near Sutton Coldfield
Pictured: Arthur Gumbley (pictured with his late wife Barbara) died weeks later as a result of his injuries after the violent home invasion in 2017 carried out by the Wilsher brothers
In the wake of the attack, Staffordshire Police released these images of Mr Gumbley, with his family’s permission, to show the nature and extent of his injuries as they appealed for help. Josephine Kaye (right) died from injuries suffered as a result of the violent raid carried out by Amos
Josephine Kaye lived alone at the time of her death when she was targeted by Amos Wilsher
Pictured: the drawer which has Jason’s DNA on the handle in a room in Mr Gumbley’s house
Pictured: Forensic investigators spent four weeks scouring Mr Gumbley’s home for evidence
Pictured: The soap box on which forensic officers recovered DNA matching Amos Wilsher
Passing sentence at Coventry Crown Court on Friday, Mr Justice Henshaw passed two life terms on Amos Wilsher and jailed his younger brother for life with a minimum tariff of 25 years.
The judge told Amos Wilsher, who was on court bail and on the run from police when he killed Mrs Kaye: ‘This case concerns a planned series of robberies targeting elderly and vulnerable people which tragically resulted in the deaths of two of them and the wounding of another.
‘You pose a significant risk to members of the public of serious harm.’
But the judge added: ‘Your murders are mitigated by your lack of intention to kill… which has played a part in my decision not to make a whole life order.’
Addressing 23-year-old Jason Wilsher, the judge said the murder of Mr Gumbley had been committed ‘for gain’ during the course of a ‘planned and pre-meditated’ robbery but his offending was also mitigated by the lack of intention to kill.
A jury further convicted the brothers, described in court as being members of a large family from the Traveller community, of conspiracy to rob and grievous bodily harm in connection to an attack on another pensioner.
At the start of the trial, prosecutor Simon Denison QC said three robbers had travelled south from the Tibshelf area of Derbyshire looking for ‘easy targets’ near to where Mr Gumbley lived.
After smashing the window in the kitchen door at the back of the house to gain entry to the property, the raiders punched Mr Gumbley in the face, knocking him to the ground.
The violence inflicted on Mr Gumbley caused injury to his brain and four displaced rib fractures, as well as widespread bruising.
The pensioner was taken to hospital where he was treated for his injuries, but their effect ‘was too much for his body to withstand’ and he died on December 12 2017.
The siblings were also found guilty of wounding with intent and conspiracy to rob after a third pensioner Dennis Taylor, 82, was attacked at his home in November 2017 – four days after the raid on Mr Gumbley’s home.
Three masked men had knocked on his farmhouse door in Mansfield and posed as police officers before he was repeatedly struck on the head, hit with a baseball bat and had a knife pushed through his lip. He also suffered a broken nose and fractured fingers.
The men ransacked his home before making off with jewellery and £800 in cash after demanding the code for his safe.
Mr Denison said Mrs Kaye, who was only 4ft 8ins and lived alone, was attacked on the evening of February 27, 2020.
Jurors were told Mrs Kaye was born and raised in Dublin, where she married and had her first daughter, before moving to Stoke-on-Trent in 1955 when her husband was offered a job there.
The prosecutor said: ‘She was attacked in her home on that Thursday evening by one man, acting alone. He repeatedly threw her to the ground, he dragged her through her home and he threatened her with a screwdriver. He found her safe in a cupboard and demanded that she tell him the code, which she couldn’t do.’
Staffordshire Police said the brothers were caught by DNA evidence found at two of the scenes by forensic investigators in 2017.
Detectives first placed the burnt-out blue Mazda RX8 in the area of the attacks on both Mr Gumbley and Mr Taylor following a four-month long study of CCTV.
Pictured: Amos Wilsher was caught on CCTV buying a screwdriver and red gloves in B&Q
Pictured: Staffordshire Police were able to link this burnt out Mazda RX8 to both 2017 scenes
How police tracked down killer brothers
The trial heard Amos Wilsher was linked to Mrs Kaye’s murder by DNA evidence found on a screwdriver, a hat, a security light and a soap tin, as well as a fingerprint on the side of a car.
In his opening speech, prosecution QC Simon Denison said three robbers had travelled south from the Tibshelf area of Derbyshire looking for ‘easy targets’ near to where Mr Gumbley lived.
After smashing the window in the kitchen door at the back of the house to gain entry to the property, the raiders punched Mr Gumbley in the face, knocking him to the ground.
Mr Denison said: ‘They kicked him in the shoulder and back, they dragged him through his house, they ripped his watch from his wrist, tearing the fragile skin from the back of his hand.
‘They ransacked his house, and they took money, items of jewellery that had belonged to his late wife, and a number of antique items that he had accumulated over the course of his long life.’
Officers found out it had been sold privately in London and telephone numbers involved in the sale led to the Wilshers.
An alias of ‘John Smiff’ had been given and an address in Bagworth was written on the V62 document which was another Wilsher family address.
Forensic work was carried out at Mr Gumbley’s bungalow and a DNA profile matching Jason was lifted from a drawer handle in the bedroom
Evidence from Amos’ electronic tag was used to place him away from his home address during the offences and returning soon after they took place.
Amos was then linked to the attack on Mrs Kaye after his DNA was found on a security light that had been tampered with and a soap tin the attacker had left on her bed.
He was also scientifically linked to a grey Honda used in the robbery as well as having been captured on CCTV driving past her house at the time she said a man came and removed a padlock from her gate.
On the back seat of the Honda were fragments from Josephine’s cupboard, and a black woollen hat she described the burglar as wearing, that had Amos’ DNA on the inside headband.
Detective Chief Inspector Dan Ison, of Staffordshire Police’s Major Investigations Department, said after the trial: ‘Amos and Jason Wilsher targeted elderly, vulnerable victims who lived alone.
‘They ruthlessly and unnecessarily used violence which caused the deaths of 87-year-old Arthur Gumbley and 88-year-old Josephine Kaye.
‘I would like to pay tribute to Dennis Taylor who survived an attack by the brothers and thank him for reliving the horrific ordeal he was subjected to which has been significant in helping secure their convictions.
‘My thoughts remain with Arthur and Josephine’s families and I thank them for their support of the investigation. During the trial, they have had to listen to the detail of what happened and have conducted themselves with dignity throughout.
‘No sentence will bring back the lives of Arthur and Josephine but I hope the convictions will provide closure knowing that justice has now been served.
‘Finally, I want to thank the investigative team who have worked tirelessly for four and a half years to ensure that these two men have been removed from our streets, resulting in not only Staffordshire being a safer place but also the West Midlands region where the brothers were operating.
‘Their commitment is humbling and I am proud to have led this investigation with such a dedicated team of police officers and staff.’
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