Accomplice in stab death raid jailed

A MAN has been jailed for 10 years for an aggravated burglary in which his accomplice was stabbed to death by the homeowner.
By The Newsroom
Published 10th Aug 2012, 07:00 BST

Both masked offenders tricked their way into the house of businessman Vincent Cooke in a bid to force him to hand over the contents of his safe.

During the raid the victim’s wife and 12-year-old son returned home which led Mr Cooke to pick up a kitchen knife “in panic and confusion”, Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard. One of the intruders, knife-wielding Raymond Jacob, lunged at him, he said, and they fell to the floor in a struggle and what followed was a “knife fight”.

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In a statement, Mr Cooke, 40, from Bramhall, Stockport, said: “I felt like I was now fighting for my life. If I did not stab him first he would stab me.”

Jacob, 37, from Wythenshawe, died from blood loss after eight stab wounds. Mr Cooke suffered superficial injuries.

Fellow burglar Michael Thorpe, 34, of Heald Green, Stockport, played a “secondary role” in the break-in and was upstairs searching for valuables when Mr Cooke led Jacob to the kitchen safe which contained a key to another safe on the premises.

Mr Cooke was arrested on suspicion of murder but was told last October that he would not face any charges after the Crown 
Prosecution Service ruled he 
acted in “reasonable self 
defence”.