BREAKING NEWS: Rolex watches and a court statement led to the father and sons killing a family friend.

In March 2023, three O’Brien brothers—Lee, 54, Luke, 36, and Lewis, 32—admitted to manslaughtering fifty-year-old Darren Smith in Shard End.

Due to the ‘family friend’s’ two Rolex watches and a court declaration, a father and his two kids killed him. On March 15 of last year, Darren Smith was accosted inside Smoke City and Cell Me Phones in Shard End by Lee O’Brien, 54, Luke O’Brien, 36, and Lewis O’Brien, 32.

After beating and dragging the fifty-year-old to the ground, they took his two watches and fled. However, Mr. Smith passed away from a heart attack a short while later when he collapsed outside. When the victim appeared in Birmingham Crown Court the next day, Mr. Smith was expected to appear in court and ‘exonerate him’. The victim and Lee O’Brien were co-defendants in a case involving stolen cars at the time.

Following the deadly assault, the father and his sons escaped to Torquay, where they were apprehended. Luke attempted to escape into the sea, throwing away a phone and bank notes, but he was apprehended after yelling, “I can’t breathe,” and “I can’t swim.”

The three O’Brien brothers—Lee, who lives on Lea Hall Road in Stechford, Luke, who lives on Fleet Street in the heart of Birmingham, and Lewis, who lives on Sunnymead Road in Yardley—were scheduled to be sentenced today after admitting to the manslaughter of Mr. Smith. The question of whether they intended to rob him before they entered the store or if it was an on-the-spot decision while inside is still up for legal debate.

Prosecutor Mark Heywood KC stated Mr Smith was a ‘regular customer’ at the shop in Heathway, Shard End and that he had gone there on March 15 last year to buy a phone case before he was attacked shortly before 3pm. He said: “Lee O’Brien and Mr Smith, although otherwise good friends of many years, had at this time two disputes.

“Firstly, Lee O’Brien and Mr Smith had been co-defendants in a prosecution relating to theft offences arising from stolen cars. Mr Smith had pleaded guilty to his role and Lee O’Brien was set down to appear at this court the following day, March 16, for a pre-trial review. Lee O’Brien was expecting Mr Smith to provide a statement exonerating him of involvement and that statement had not been forthcoming.

“Luke O’Brien also referred to his belief that Mr Smith owed Lee O’Brien money arising from car dealing the two of them had done in the time leading up to this.”

Luke further said that Mr. Smith was ‘avoiding’ paying the money he allegedly owed and ‘kept going on holidays’. Lewis is the first person to enter the store on CCTV footage taken inside, holding a socket wrench in one hand. Shortly after Luke arrived, the brothers started fighting with Mr. Smith.

Then Lee came in and, according to what the court heard, he falsely accused Mr. Smith of being a “rapist,” threatening the storekeeper not to take pictures or call the police. During the struggle, Mr. Smith was knocked to the ground, had a Rolex watch taken off of each wrist, and had a wound on his head that was obviously bleeding.

Following the three defendants out of the store, Mr. Smith confronted them outside before going back inside, making a call, and pacing the area. Mr. Heywood stated that the man had experienced a fatal heart attack and that as he went back outside he ‘got wobbly on his feet, staggered and fell over onto his back’.

He was a recreational cocaine user in addition to having a number of pre-existing medical issues, such as diabetes and coronary heart disease, according to a post-mortem examination. Experts determined that while he was always vulnerable to unexpected death, he most likely would not have passed away on March 15 if he had not been beaten.

“None of the defendants needed to have known Mr. Smith had risk factors,” Mr. Heywood stated. Perhaps he didn’t know about some of them himself.”

The next day, all three offenders were taken into custody in Torquay. They all continued by saying that, despite their earlier attempts to locate Mr. Smith in order to get the court statement, they ended up robbing him because of the altercation.

However, Mr. Heywood contended that there was a “strong indication they were willing to steal before they entered the store.” Judge Melbourne Inman KC will make a determination on the subject after a trial of issue hearing at a later time.