Whilst I am certainly not celebrating Mr Vincent's death, I cannot feel bring myself to feel at all sorry for him when you take into account the reason he met his death. He is dead because he physically threatened an elderly man in his own home, whilst his vulnerable and unwell wife lay upstairs- to the extent that the elderly man felt his life was in danger and acted in self-defence. Did Henry Vincent deserve to die? Perhaps not, but I cannot bring myself to regret his death or feel it is a "tragedy". I am ambivalent. I do, however, feel incredibly sorry for Mr Osborne-Brookes whose life has been turned upside down and now has to live with what has happened, unlikely to ever be able to return their home. On top of that they are being threatened and intimidated by Mr Vincent's family. The only tragedy here is what has happened to the elderly couple.
Mr Vincent was clearly an utterly despicable individual who had preyed on the elderly and vulnerable for most of his adult life, apparently without an ounce of regret or concern for the damage he inflicted. His family are of the same ilk, given they have been happy to live off his ill-gotten gains (or supported by his father and other family members who are criminals too). Their behaviour has also been utterly despicable. They are trying to do anything to intimidate, upset and inflame Mr Osborne-Brooks and also the local community. I hope they are prevented from taking the funeral procession past the Osbourne-Brooks' House. It is unbelievable that they would think that is appropriate.
And whilst I agree that HV was the product of his upbringing, it really doesn't excuse his actions. He was an adult with free will and so he made his won decisions. I can see those saying you need to intervene early to prevent this kind of criminality being passed down through the generations. But I think that is difficult in any situation- short of taking the children into care (and I am not suggesting that)- given the parents often don't see anything wrong in their lifestyle/choices. It is even more difficult to intervene effectively in some communities, such as the travelling community. Besides the actual difficulty in intervening in families who move regularly (though I know not all do), they don't want it. They have chosen to opt out of mainstream life. How can you intervene in a closed community that wouldn't welcome any help from mainstream society, or indeed see it as help?