The family of a watch dealer who was found dead 24 hours after being the victim of a high value jewellery raid say they believe he took his own life.
Oliver White died at his family home in Shepperton, Middlesex, just a day after two unarmed thieves entered the 247 Kettles store in affluent Richmond in south-west London last Saturday and stole dozens of high value watches.
Horrifying video footage shows one of the robbers restraining Oliver with a chokehold while his accomplice is seen sweeping up large numbers of watches and putting them into the backpack of the man assaulting the young sales manager.
Today it emerged that the two men being hunted over the robbery had posed as clients in a three-day sting before attacking Mr White. The watch company said this morning he ‘should never have been alone’ with that amount of watches on display.
In a statement to Surrey Police, Oliver’s family said: ‘Our son Oliver returned home from his place of work on Saturday traumatised and unable to speak. He had been the victim of a terrifying attack and high value robbery at his place of work, which was later shared widely on social media.
‘Sadly, it is our belief that Oliver subsequently took his own life due to the anguish and distress of this terrible incident.
‘As a family we are devastated by the loss of our beautiful, funny, loyal boy, who lit up every room he walked into.’
After paying tribute to their ‘beautiful’ boy, Oliver’s family also asked for privacy while they grieve their loss.
In a statement released on their Instagram account, 247 Kettles said Oliver ‘should never have been alone in the office on Saturday and that amount of watches should’ve never been on display’.
The firm went on to say that despite having strict security procedures, including panic buttons, alarms, smoke screens and security doors, none of these were followed ‘through no fault of anyone’s’ in such a tragic event.
The post also added that the suspects who robbed the store posed ‘as potential clients across a three day period waiting for a vulnerability and the correct time to strike’.
A close friend of Oliver, who was known as Olli, told yesterday: ‘He was very depressed after the robbery and was filled with a lot of worry especially after it was established that around £2.8million worth of watches had been stolen.
‘Olli was petrified that he could lose all that he owns and that they might even take his mother’s house.
‘He was also traumatised by what happened and became very fearful about the impact this robbery could have on his and his family’s financial future. He just didn’t know what was going to happen.’
Another friend claimed that Olli’s fears were heightened over concerns about how much insurance cover was in place.
He said: ‘He wasn’t sure if the insurance would have covered the theft or if there was any insurance at all. The robbery left him broken and combined with the financial uncertainty over who would be responsible he couldn’t see another way out.
‘Olli took it very personally and really believed that he would get all the blame and that it would ruin him.’
Olli, who was reported to be in his mid 20s, lived in Shepperton with his mother Amy and stepfather Mark.
The devastated couple were consoling his heartbroken girlfriend Alana Dredge at the family home today.
A family friend told : ‘They are going through an incredible amount of pain and it’s going to take them a long time to get over this.
‘Olli was a wonderful son and partner to Alana, and they had dreams about building a life together but tragically, this robbery has taken this all away.’
A spokesman for 247 Kettles said Oliver ‘left a long lasting impact on the watch community as a whole’ with his ‘vibrant spirit’ and his loss will be ‘felt deeply by all that knew him’.
It also added: ‘Oliver had an incredible work ethic and a passion for pleasing customers. He liked to work around the clock and even out of hours to ensure customers were satisfied.
‘As a business we will remain closed temporarily to grieve the loss of our friend. Any messages / requests will be picked up upon our return. Our thoughts are with all of Oliver’s family at this time.’
Ms Dredge shared on Instagram a picture of herself and her partner on holiday – saying it was ‘our last photo together’, taken just a fortnight ago.
She wrote: ‘My darling boy I can’t believe you’re gone. This was our last photo together. This was only 2 weeks ago and now I’ll never see you again.
‘The last thing you said to me was I love you. I will cherish you forever, being with you was the best 6 years of my life. I hope you are reading this from up there, I will continue to make you proud.’
She described how the pair were saving to buy their first home together as she vowed to ‘buy the house you exactly wanted and it’ll be your home’.
Ms Dredge, whose account describes her as a hair extension specialist, revealed she was still sending WhatsApp messages to Mr White’s phone – saying she was ‘hoping this is all a nightmare and you’ll reply’.
She went on to say: ‘I don’t know how I’ll do life without you, my whole world has ended.
‘My life will never be the same again I can’t explain how much I love you. I will never stop loving you – I’m so numb I can’t cry anymore.
‘I have never felt pain like this, you were the only person that could give me comfort like no other and make all my pain go away.
‘Now you’re not here I don’t know what I’m going to do. I love you Oliver more than I can put into words.’
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