'Ruthless' robber given two life sentences for murders of pensioners in separate attacks

A serial robber who killed a pensioner with his brother before murdering another OAP in a separate attack has been jailed for life.

'Ruthless' thief Amos Wilsher, 29, fatally punched, kicked and dragged Arthur Gumbley, 87, during a sickening attack with brother Jason, 23 in November 2017.

Wilsher then acted alone when he viciously attacked Josephine Kaye, 88, at her home in Stoke-on-Trent, in February 2020, posing as a gas worker to remove a padlock from a gate before killing Kaye and stealing her safe containing £20,000.

The OAP was thrown to the ground and threatened with a screwdriver, which Wilsher had earlier bought from a DIY store.

She suffered a broken leg and significant bruising, she died three weeks later in hospital.

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Amos Wilsher was found guilty of the murders of both Gumbley and Kaye following a trial at Coventry Crown Court in February.

Jason was found guilty of murdering Gumbley after a jury of six men and six women spent 5 hours and 50 minutes deliberating.

Wilsher was today handed two life sentences with a 38-year minimum term for both the murders.

The first murder saw the Wilsher brothers burst into Gumbley's bungalow in Little Aston repeatedly punching and kicking 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.

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Police released shocking pictures of Gumbley as he lay in his hospital bed before he passed away from his injuries three weeks later on 12 December 2017.

Passing sentence at Coventry Crown Court, Justice Henshaw said 29-year-old Wilsher was responsible for a planned series of robberies targeting elderly and vulnerable victims in 2017 and 2020.

The murder of 88-year-old 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 siblings were also found guilty of wounding with intent and conspiracy to rob after a third pensioner Dennis Taylor, 82, was attacked.

Three masked men had knocked on his farmhouse door in Mansfield before he was repeatedly struck on the head and had a knife pushed through his lip.

The men ransacked his home before making off with jewellery and £800 in cash after demanding the code for his safe.

A Mazda was caught on nearby CCTV speeding towards and away from the farm before it was found burnt out later that evening in a country lane.

DNA evidence later linked them to the crime scenes. Jason was previously convicted of Gumbley’s murder in 2019 but was granted a re-trial.

Jason Wilsher was jailed for life at Coventry Crown Court with a minimum term of 25 years for the murder of Arthur Gumbley.

He was also sentenced to concurrent terms of 12 and five years for conspiracy to rob and wounding with intent respectively.