Two brothers have been sentenced to a combined total of 31 years in jail for a robbery they committed while wearing latex face masks to disguise themselves as elderly men.
The heist, which took place in Essex, involved Benjamin Murphy, 37, and George Murphy-Bristow, 28, who were armed with a knife and a hatchet axe. They tied up a worker with cable ties and stole a £15,000 Rolex watch from his wrist before fleeing the scene in a getaway car parked outside.
Several weeks later, the police stopped a suspicious vehicle during a patrol about 36 miles away. They discovered two full-face masks and clothing identical in appearance to that worn by the suspects in the robbery in the car’s boot. Additionally, they found a black duffel bag containing a hatchet, knife, and cable ties. The driver of the car, George Murphy-Bristow, was arrested at the scene. Forensic tests of saliva from inside the masks identified DNA belonging to Murphy-Bristow and his older brother, Benjamin Murphy.
