A son has spoken of his disabled dad’s devastation after burglars ransacked his home and stole at least £50,000 worth of his late wife’s jewellery.
Conor Boyle says his widower father has been left sleepless and anxious after losing “another part” of his partner in the heist at his house in the Benover area in Yalding.
The incident happened on Friday, July 4 while the 59-year-old dad had been at his mother’s house with his daughter between around 3pm and 8pm.
Police suspect it’s part of a wider spate of burglaries reported in the area and an investigation is ongoing.
Son Conor explained how on the night of the incident the thieves had initially tried to break a window with a plant pot, but after the unsuccessful attempt, used a rock. They then used the hole to open a window, climb through and open a door at the back of the property to let accomplices in.
He told KentOnline: “They’ve just pulled everything out of everywhere.
“There’s one wardrobe in each bedroom, there are cabinets and chests of drawers, and everything’s been pulled out like clothing.
There’s footprints everywhere from mud, then as far as we can tell, they found the jewellery
“My mother’s remains live in one of the bedrooms, and they’ve kind of gone through all of that – she’s in like a wicker box, so they pulled that out of the bag to have a look.
“My dad has a breathing device he sleeps with, and that’s been kind of pulled apart, and it’s everywhere all over the room.
“There’s footprints everywhere from mud, then as far as we can tell, they found the jewellery.”
The collection of rings, necklaces and earrings had been stored in a wardrobe in the master bedroom.
They had been items his parents had collected over their nearly 40-year relationship and featured possessions which had been passed down generations from family members.
Although they are understood to be worth at least £50,000, Conor believes their real value is much higher.
He added: “The burglars lucked out, found a boatload of jewellery, very unsecured, and from what I think happened is they’ve just gone ‘We’ve hit the jackpot here’, and they just got out as quickly as they could.”
At around 8pm, Conor’s father returned home. At first, he thought his cat Pepper had been responsible for the mess.
The 34-year-old said: “He was initially confused – it didn’t really twig because the [front] door was open, but there was no kind of damage or destruction to the front of the property.
“It was all in the back, and he hadn’t yet figured out that he’d been burgled.
“So he came in and I think, as he kind of walked through the property, saw there were some drawers that had been opened and emptied, and he was thinking, has the cat done that? Has she really been able to figure that out?
“It’s only once he got to the back of the property, where there were footprints in certain places and clothes all over the place, that he knew something was missing.”
Conor’s sister came over, as well as a neighbour, and they contacted the police via a non-emergency number.
It was all in the back, and he hadn’t yet figured out that he’d been burgled
The force confirmed they were called at 8.40pm to reports of a burglary, but as the suspects had left, advice was given to preserve any potential forensic evidence.
Crime scene investigators then attended the property the next day, and officers visited the victim and scene on July 7 and 9 as part of an investigation including house-to-house enquiries and a review of available CCTV.
But Conor says his family were left unimpressed by the “slow” response to the incident.
He added: “No one came out in, like, a patrol car – there was no initial reaction, it was just like, ‘Okay, you’ll get a call back in the next four hours from one of our team here in the call centre’.
“The impression was that they were going to get some assistance that evening, and they maybe called up like an hour or two later again to check on the status of that, and then they were like, ‘Sorry, it’s not going to happen tonight’.
“The emotional impact for my father is significant. He’s disabled, got bad blood pressure, that’s going to increase it — it’s just generally not the kind of response you expect.
“This man hasn’t slept, you know, he’s worried sick, and he has had a devastating loss of property and self-worth. It’s anxiety-inducing, it’s stressful.”
“He’s aware that there’s a glaring great hole in the back of his house – you would want a police officer to come by and be like, ‘We’re really sorry this happened to you, but typically, no one’s going to come back and do it again’.
“You want a professional who does this to come and make you feel okay.”
Conor says the stolen jewellery has taken the biggest toll.
He added: “If my mom was still around, it’d be less of an issue, but the fact that she’s not here anymore, you know, he’s, he’s already lost his wife, and it’s just another part of her that he’s losing.
“Our family home has turned into a bit of a shrine, where he hasn’t really touched her stuff too much, obviously, keeps it clean and keeps it tidy, but he’s wanted to at least retain some element of his wife’s presence in the house with him.
“Obviously, what he was trying to do was make himself feel better about that loss, and now there’s just another part of us that’s been stolen and destroyed.”
“This man hasn’t slept, you know, he’s worried sick, and he has had a devastating loss of property and self-worth. It’s anxiety-inducing, it’s stressful…”
At the moment, Conor says there are no major updates but believes the police are trying to trace DNA left on the rock and broken window.
He also believes the incident at his dad’s home is linked to other similar ones in the area after speaking with residents and community members.
“The neighbour who was there that night says she knows of two or three neighbours whose houses have been broken into, have had an attempted break-in, or people have got in, but not taken anything, because they’ve not found anything.
“Then on the Sunday, I went to the local pub with an old school friend, and he mentioned to the person running the bar what happened with my dad, and then a lady turned around, and said, ‘Oh, the forensics and police officers were at my house, someone threw a brick through my window’.
Conor added: “A few neighbours have reported seeing an unknown vehicle in the area, and a few received an unknown man knocking on their door and asking for help with fuel.
“We understand that they did not feel safe during this interaction, and the unknown party’s intentions were not genuine.
“We believe the suspects were going around the area and knocking on doors to verify if a house is empty. The information was passed to the police over the weekend. ”
Police confirmed to KentOnline the burglary at Conor’s father’s house is suspected to be part of a wider series of burglaries being investigated by its Crime Investigation Department.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing and anyone with information is urged to call the west Kent appeals line on 01622 604100, quoting reference 46/115973/25.
You can also contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or by using the online form.
Local residents with private CCTV or drivers with dashcam, who may have been in the area at the time of the incident, are also asked to check for footage.
