The victim of a violent robbery potentially carried out by the ‘Night Watcher’ has spoken for the first time about the horrifying ordeal that left her fearing for her life.
The woman, who has chosen to remain anonymous, had her forehead split open and was bound with electrical cables after the masked robber forced her to open a safe.
The armed thief confronted the victim in the front garden of her home near Sevenoaks, Kent, before grabbing her, holding her at gunpoint and stealing £1.5million in jewellery.
On Tuesday, the 63-year-old spoke about the raid on BBC‘s Crimewatch Live.
With her face hidden and her voice altered, she said: ‘It was a lovely sunny day. All of a sudden there was this armed robber pointing a gun at me.
‘I was shocked. He grabbed my collar and told me to open the safes.’
She recounted how she went to the garage and opened the safe there before being dragged to the house.
Once she had opened the safe upstairs in the bedroom, the raider struck her with the weapon.
The woman said: ‘He split my forehead open with a gun. There was blood everywhere, in my eyes.
‘He tied my hands and then my feet and then tied them together. The pain was excruciating.
‘He then put a chair on my back and I lay there in sheer panic. I thought “oh my goodness, is he going to kill me?”.’
An hour later her husband came home and was confronted with the scene which he said was like a ‘horror movie’. He raised the alarm and she was taken to hospital.
The woman said of the robber: ‘He has done this many times, I believe, and was pretty professional.
‘I don’t see the reason why he had to split my head open. Maybe that’s a sadistic streak he’s got in him. He’s a complete coward.’
Speaking about the devastating impact of the attack, she said: ‘You can’t just forget about it. You think about it every day. You’re wary of people. You suspect everybody now.’
The masked thief carried out the ‘professional’ robbery in June last year and his voice can be heard in new CCTV of his latest crime, released by detectives in an effort to finally snare him.
The raider was seen running towards his victim, appearing to clutch a pistol by the barrel with the grip exposed. He then grabbed her as she walked towards her front door.
The Night Watcher is already wanted for a series of similar raids dating back to 2006 across Surrey, Sussex, Kent, London and Berkshire – and the Sevenoaks raid could be his 18th target. Kent Police are investigating possible links to the other cases.
The new footage captures the raider demanding the woman’s keys. Her screams are audible as he marches her to the garage at gunpoint.
The suspect says: ‘The key to the garage. Open it! Open the garage. Open the garage. Open it!’
The victim is then forced into the house where she is instructed to open a second safe – before the raider hits her across the head with the gun, splitting her forehead open in the ‘mindless and violent’ attack.
She was then bound using electrical cables from lamps with her hands and feet all tied together before the raider continued his search for more valuables.
The suspect fled from the property on a bicycle with over 50 items of jewellery including rings, diamond-encrusted earrings, a sapphire pendant and watches.
He targeted the large house on a quiet private road on the outskirts of wealthy Sevenoaks near the Wildernesse Golf Club at 3.55pm on June 21 last year.
The victim was found by her husband when he came home an hour after the attack.
A team of detectives have established that the suspect used the rail network and had accessed stations including Staplehurst, Marden and Hildenborough.
He was wearing a face mask, cream coloured baseball cap and had trainers with distinctive red soles. He also sometimes wore a high-visibility top when cycling.
Police said their investigation remains ongoing, and the raider is now also being formally linked to at least five other burglaries in Kent since 2016, stealing items worth a total of more than £600,000.
These include:
- November 2016, Ide Hill – jewellery and watches worth around £60,000
- January 2017, Maidstone – jewellery and watches worth around £75,000 along with cash
- August 2020, Marden – jewellery and watches more than £100,000 as well as cash
- September 2021, Marden – jewellery and watches worth £23,000
- January 2022, Shipbourne – jewellery and watches around £400,000 as well as cash
Linguistic experts believe the suspect’s accent is of someone from the ‘prosperous southern counties’.
Detective Inspector Maxine Harris of Kent Police appeared on the BBC programme to talk about the investigation and to urge viewers to listen to the audio clip of demands made by the offender to his victim.
The show also aired some of the latest images linked to the case, including that of the bag carried by the suspect. This was described as possibly a Timbuk2 brand.
New and enhanced photos were also published of the suspect’s appearance and clothing, as well as his partially disguised face.
Detective Inspector Maxine Harris said: ‘We are continuing to make significant and extensive enquiries to track down the man responsible for this cowardly assault and burglary.
‘It is possible he has strong connections to the Staplehurst area, although we are not discounting that he may live outside of Kent. He should not be approached.
She added: ‘Our officers have been making further house-to-house enquiries throughout the Staplehurst area and we are now also urging residents to listen to the audio recording of the suspect’s voice, which includes demands made to his terrified victim.
‘If you think this voice sounds even vaguely familiar to someone you may know it is vital that you contact us.’
The husband of the victim in the Sevenoaks robbery spoke in August, saying: ‘I guess it has to be said that the events of June 21 have undoubtedly changed our lives.
‘The mindless and violent attack on my 63-year-old wife was what you might expect to see in a horror movie.
‘Finding my injured wife with her hands and legs bound was truly shocking and that image will stay with me for a very long time.
‘Our home no longer feels like our safe haven but a constant reminder of the mental and physical trauma inflicted by a callous armed robber wearing an intimidating balaclava.
‘It is so important that the investigating officers at Kent Police find this cowardly villain and prevent him from attacking other vulnerable and innocent people in their homes.’
Police are liaising with the National Crime Agency as well as other forces as part of their investigation.
Crimewatch Live – A Violent Burglary is available to watch on BBC iPlayer
