Two men have been found guilty of plotting a £1.38 million jewellery shop robbery, which led its manager to take his own life the next day.
Oliver White, 27, who was tied up and put in a headlock during the raid, took his own life the next day as a direct result, a court was told.
More than 70 high-value watches were taken from the 247 Kettles shop in Richmond, south-west London, on May 25 last year.
Kyle Mehmet, 40, of Rotherham, and Michael Holmes, 34, of Sheffield, were convicted of conspiracy to rob after a trial at Woolwich Crown Court.
Mannix Pedro, 37, of Woking, was found guilty of the same offence in February.
In a state of distress, Mr White tried to transfer £14,000 in savings to his bosses after the theft, prosecutors said.
Earlier this year, a trial heard he did not see ‘the risk or bad in anyone’ and ‘showed real enthusiasm for his work at Kettles’.
But Mr White told his girlfriend he had been accused by a man ‘of not putting up enough of a fight.’
Not long after transferring the cash, he went missing and stopped replying to texts or calls. His body was found by a friend in a wooded area he visited as a child.
None of the stolen watches has been recovered, and the shop had no insurance, despite being the target of a theft three years earlier.
Earlier this year, Junior Kunu, 31, of Mitcham, south-west London, was cleared of conspiracy to rob the shop.
Kunu said the robbery was ‘staged’ and everyone involved consented – including Mr White, whom he claimed would have ‘put up more of a fight’ if he had thought the robbery was real.
Latest London news
- London’s new luxury neighbourhoods where house prices have reached £1,000,000
- There’s a capsule missing from the London Eye – here’s why
- Here’s how much more drivers will pay for the London congestion charge next year
To get the latest news from the capital visit Metro’s London news hub.
Jurors were shown CCTV in which a man put Mr White in a headlock while he was seated on an office chair, as another man, allegedly Kunu, stuffed watches into a backpack.
Mr White was first contacted by the conspirators, who posed as prospective buyers, through Instagram and then later on WhatsApp about three months before the robbery, the court heard.
Just days before the robbery, the suspects visited the shop to view watches, pretending they were ‘interested’ in making a purchase.
The first visit was an ‘aborted’ robbery, according to Mr Brown.
Mehmet, Holmes and Pedro will be sentenced at a later date.
Samaritans are here to listen, day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or visit samaritans.org for more information.