Man found guilty of murdering ex Royal Navy officer who was hit by car while trying to stop thieves

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

A jury has found Ryan Gibbons guilty of murdering ex-Royal Navy officer Mike Samwell.

Samwell was hit by a car while trying to stop thieves earlier this year.

Gibbons, 29, admitted breaking into the 35-year-old's home in Chorlton, Manchester, on 23 April.

He said he stole Samwell's Audi S3 car but denied running him over two times in view of the victim's wife, Jessica.

A jury at Manchester Crown Court took four hours to find him guilty.

Gibbons will be sentenced on Wednesday.

Mike and Jessica Samwell were woken in the night as burglars entered their house.

The men took the couple's car keys from the kitchen, according to local reports.

Samwell rushed outside, half-dressed, to confront the theives.

He shouted at them to get out of the car, and was run over.

Gibbons' accomplice, Raymond Davies, has been found guilty of manslaughter.

Gibbons' girlfriend has been cleared.

Samwell trained as a naval officer at Britannia Royal Naval College in Devon, and spent 10 years in the senior service. He left in 2014.

At the time of his death, his family said he was a "wonderful husband, brother and son".