Intruder was 'lawfully killed'
A VERDICT of lawful killing was recorded by a coroner this afternoon in the case of an intruder who was stabbed to death by a blind man.

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Bob's Note: England has banned guns for several years now. The result has been that only criminals have guns and the citizenry has been left not only defensless but also the laws are completely stacked in favor of the criminal. Be sure to read the results for the family who were attacked after the young hoodlum was killed. Be aware: it could happen in the USA if the CRIMINAL CODDLING DEMOCRAP left-wing extremists get control of the legal system.

Robert Bottomley
Thursday, 18th March 2004

LAWFULLY KILLED: Lee Kelso

The unusual verdict is usually applied only to cases where police have shot dead a suspect during a siege to prevent anyone else from being harmed.

Thomas O'Connor, 63, stabbed Lee Kelso after the 23-year-old had threatened him and his wife and broken down his front door in the early hours of the morning.

Following the incident in June last year, police launched a murder inquiry. But Mr O'Connor was not charged with the killing after police took advice from a leading barrister who said no jury would convict the frail man.

The law says people are allowed to use "reasonable force" when acting to defend themselves.

And at the inquest Stockport coroner, John Pollard ruled that Mr O'Connor had acted with reasonable force and within the law.

The court heard how Mr O'Connor, who is registered blind, and suffers from heart problems and arthritis, had feared for his life and that of his wife, Erith, when Kelso battered down the door of their home in Brinnington, Stockport.

Witnesses said Kelso had drunk up to 12 pints of strong lager and some whisky at the Farmers Arms pub next door to the O'Connors' home before going into their garden, probably to urinate, at 1.30am.

Struggle

An argument followed and Kelso began hammering on the door, threatening Mr O'Connor that he would "sort him out".

As Kelso battered on the door Mr and Mrs O'Connor frantically tried to telephone police. But because of his poor sight and their panic, they misdialled.

Mr O'Connor then grabbed a knife and during a struggle at the front door Kelso suffered a fatal stab wound to his chest.

Recording his verdict, Mr Pollard said Mr O'Connor had been confronted with the very frightening circumstances.

"I am not in anyway saying the public should take it upon themselves to kill people entering their premises. I believe Mr O'Connor acted within reasonable bounds to protect himself and his wife and therefore record a verdict that Lee Ross Kelso was lawfully killed."

The inquest heard how the O'Connors had turned their home into a fortress because of previous trouble and break-ins.

Camera

Their front door was fitted with a Yale lock, two bolts and a security chain.

They also had a security camera linked to a video recorder fitted to the rear of the house, a security light at the front and an alarm.

Following Lee Kelso's death Mr and Mrs O'Connor were moved from their home for their own safety and are now living at a secret address.

The couple's children and grandchildren are also understood to have left the area because of fears for their safety. Shortly after the stabbing the O'Connor's home was torched in a suspected revenge attack.

Mr O'Connor is blind in one eye and partially sighted in the other. He can only see shadows and walks with a stick.

Following the attack police found that his front door had been hit with such force it was off its hinges and the door frame had also become dislodged.

Intruder's family slam police

Monday, 11th August 2003

THE family of a man who was killed as he smashed his way through the door of a blind man's house have slammed the police for their failure to prosecute his killer.

Lee Kelso died after being stabbed while in the doorway of 63-year-old Thomas O'Connor's home in Stockport.

Mr O'Connor will not face prosecution. It was decided not to charge him after lawyers said it would have been impossible to disprove a case of self-defence.

But Mr Kelso's grandfather said it should have been left to a jury to decide on the case.

Barry Kelso said the family may now build up their own dossier in a bid to get the police to rethink and said: "I think police should have prosecuted. The family were getting over this - but this is hard to take in."

Police say the confrontation in June flared after Mr Kelso - who had been drinking for seven hours - urinated in Mr O'Connor's garden.

Mr O'Connor - blind in one eye, partially sighted in the other and with several health complaints - said Mr Kelso had kicked the door down and threatened him and his wife Erith.

Mr O'Connor grabbed a knife and stabbed Mr Kelso, who died later in hospital.

Mr O'Connor's home was later torched and he and his family have gone into hiding for fear of reprisals. He said in a statement that he had been "doing no more than was necessary" to protect his home and family.

Police say the case should not be a green light for people to take the law into their own hands.

Life on the run for man in stab horror

Thursday, 7th August 2003
Robert Bottomley

A BLIND grandad who killed an intruder at his home has been told he will not be prosecuted - but his life now lies in ruins.

Thomas O'Connor, 62, and his wife, were moved out of their home immediately after Lee Kelso suffered fatal stab wounds during a violent confrontation there in June.

They are now living at a secret address away from Greater Manchester.

The couple's children and grandchildren have also left the area because they fear for their safety.

The O'Connors' home on Stockport's Brinnington estate was torched soon after the stabbing in a suspected revenge attack.

Mr Kelso, 23, died during surgery after being stabbed once in the stomach and once in the right side of his chest at the O'Connors' home .

There were unconfirmed reports that Mr Kelso had been urinating in the elderly couple's garden, which is next to a pub, when a confrontation flared which ended in tragedy.

Mr O'Connor is blind in one eye and partially sighted in the other and can only see shadows.

Collapsed

He also walks with a stick and suffers from several health complaints.

He told police that he stabbed Kelso after he found the younger man, who had broken through his front door, threatening to harm him and his wife.

When police arrived, they found the door kicked out of its frame and Mr O'Connor collapsed in the garden. Mr Kelso managed to stagger several yards to the grounds of the Farmer's Arms and he was then taken to Stepping Hill Hospital, where he died.

Greater Manchester Police decided not to prosecute Mr O'Connor after the Crown Prosecution Service and a top lawyer said it would not be possible to disprove that Mr O'Connor had acted in self-defence and that legal action was not "in the public interest".

Police were today stressing the case of Mr O'Connor does not compare with that of Norfolk farmer Tony Martin, who shot dead a burglar at his farmhouse.

TORCHED: Mr. O'Connor's home

And they said that the O'Connor case should not be seen as the green light for people to take the law into their own hands.

Mr Martin was initially jailed for murder after he unsuccessfully argued that he had acted in self-defence when he opened fire. His murder conviction was later reduced to manslaughter.

When asked about comparisons with the case of Mr Martin, Det Chief Insp Ian Foster, of Stockport police, said: "This is not a true comparison, this is not a like-for-like case.

"This case stands purely on its own merits and does not reflect the circumstances in the Tony Martin case.

"We feel it is important to point out that this decision refers to this case specifically - and it should not be taken as an indication that people can take the law into their own hands."

Today, the O'Connors' house, which is next to the Farmer's Arms pub car park, was still boarded up and the outside walls visibly blackened by the fire, which happened days after the stabbing.

Fears

After Mr Kelso's death, bunches of flowers were placed outside the pub, along with a picture of Mr Kelso cradling his young son.

An inquest into Mr Kelso's death is expected to be held later this year.

According to neighbours, the O'Connors' children and their grandchildren have also been forced to move away from the estate because of fears of reprisals.

One neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: "He was a quiet old man who lived there most of his life and brought his children up there. Now all his family, including his grandchildren, have had to move out of Brinnington. It is very, very sad."

Another resident said: "He was a 62-year-old man who stabbed a 23-year-old.

"He must have been pushed to the limit. At the end of the day, I would have done the same - you protect yourself and your family. You don't think, you just act.

"He might not be being punished by the police, but he has lost his home.

"He will have to live with the fact that he has killed someone and now he will always have to be looking over his shoulder."