‘Brutal’ pair jailed for life
Two Fenland men found guilty of murdering Lincoln pensioner Sonny Grey have been jailed for life.
Rocky Curtis (25), of Newbridge Lane, Wisbech, and Robert Holmes (24), of Redmoor Lane, Wisbech, were both found guilty of murdering the 70-year-old grandfather at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday.
They were sentenced on Friday with Curtis being told he will serve a minimum of 28 years and Holmes a minimum of 26 years.
Mr Grey was attacked in his home in Westwick Gardens, Lincoln, on October 29, 2011, suffering 46 injuries and being tortured with boiling hot water from a kettle.
Detective superintendent Stuart Morrison, of the East Midlands special operations unit major crime team, said: “These two men, for the last three weeks, have tried to convince the court and the jury that they had nothing to do with this.
“They clearly are guilty and these two are very brutal, cruel men. I’ve rarely seen brutality of this type and rarely against an elderly man. It’s been a 16 month investigation which started with nothing and we’ve built it up with evidence. We’re very pleased with the verdict. Mr Grey died in a considerable amount of pain and this has caused his family an enormous amount of distress over that the last year or so. We hope this verdict offers them some small consolation that justice has been done and that they may now be able to start moving forward with their lives.
There were tears from the public gallery from the families of Curtis and Holmes when the jury gave their verdict.
One family member, who had to be removed from the court room, shouted: “How can you send my baby away? He never did it.”
While being led from the dock, Holmes shrugged his shoulders in the direction of his family while Curtis simply said: “Appeal”.
It is said that both Curtis and Holmes tortured Mr Grey in a bid to find £30,000 hidden underneath his floorboards.
When police searched the house, only £9,000 was recovered. A gold chain and ring which Mr Grey “always wore” were also missing.
Curtis’ older brother Tom was also arrested in connection with the incident but died before the trial began.
Judge Mr Justice Saunders said Tom Curtis was the likely ring leader and he took that into account when sentencing Curtis and Holmes.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Wisbech
Friday 24 May 2013
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 5 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 35 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 5 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: North
