Two men found guilty of £1.38m jewellery shop robbery plot that ‘led store manager to take own life’

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”.

Read more: Tate gallery attacker guilty of assaulting two nurses at psychiatric hospital Broadmoor again

Read more: Brutal 'date' murder uncovers robbery ring targeting dozens of women in South Africa after one victim 'beaten to death'

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 have 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.

Mehmet, Holmes and Pedro will be sentenced at a later date.