Leon De St Aubin and Rupert Ross "killed in a frightening and organised way"
Rupert Ross of Fulham and Leon De St Aubin of Chlesea have been found guilty of
shooting a man in a execution style killing outside Wandsworth prison.
The murder occurred in the front car park outside HMP Wandsworth on
Friday 1 May 2009, when the victim was attending the prison as a
visitor.
Darcy Austin-Bruce, 20, from Fulham, was shot multiple times in the
torso and despite efforts by medical staff from the prison, he was
pronounced dead at the scene.
The court heard how Darcy, and two other friends, were being escorted
across the car park from the visitor's centre to the prison when a man
in a suit appeared. He produced a hand gun and shot Darcy in the back.
Darcy turned around to face his killer, who continued to shoot him in
the chest. He was shot a total of six times at close range. As Darcy
collapsed to the ground the gun-man ran off to a nearby moped where a
getaway driver, also dressed in a suit and crash helmet, had the engine
revving before driving the gun-man away at speed from Alma Terrace onto
Trinity Road SW18.
The murder was committed in front of a number of people including children who were all visiting the prison. Nurses and doctors from the prison
rushed to Darcy's assistance but sadly were unable to save him as his
injuries were too severe.
Leon De St Aubin, 34, a fireman, of Curran House, Lucan Place,
Chelsea, and Rupert Ross,
30, of Vera Road, Fulham, were found
guilty of murder.
Ross and De St Aubin had previously been good friends of Darcy's until
they fell out. A few days before
the murder Darcy and another youth had shot at a car being driven by De
St Aubin.
A man known to Ross and St Aubin was serving time at HMP Wandsworth and
came to hear of Darcy's intended visit to another inmate. He used a
contraband mobile phone to call Ross and De St Aubin to inform them of
the visit, and this is when they hatched a plan to kill Darcy as he
visited the prison.
Detectives from Trident worked through phone records and
gathering intelligence to piece together that Ross was the gun-man whose
diary stated that he was 'living a gangster lifestyle, making good money
and living a fast life'. Just over a month earlier, on 27 March 2009,
Ross and De St Aubin had signed up for a motorcycle training course,
although in statements to police they failed to admit this fact.
Ross and De St Aubin were driven to a place to steal the moped the day
before the murder. The stolen moped and the gun have never been found
but witness evidence confirmed that Ross was in fact the shooter and De
St Aubin his getaway driver.
Acting Detective Chief Inspector Brian Lucas of Trident said: "These men
were living violent and criminal lives to the extent that they believed
that they could get away with killing a man in broad daylight as revenge
for a petty argument. I believe that they had lost sight of reality and
now face the consequences of their sad and violent choices.
"Darcy Austen-Bruce was killed in a frightening and organised way. Those
innocent people that were witness to this were highly distressed and
scarred by what they saw.
"My thoughts are with the family of Darcy at this time. I am glad that
today these men have been found guilty and can no longer delude
themselves of their 'gangster' status and realize a sad future is in
front of them of a long prison life."
The jury were unable to reach a decision in relation to Casper Smith and Khori Hines who also stood trial
for murder - there was a hung jury.
November 11, 2011