Victim of 'highly professional soldier' burglar suspected in multi-million pound raids 'feared she would be killed'

'I actually thought he was going to rape me, I was very, very frightened'
Ella Wills30 January 2018
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

A victim of a "soldier" burglar believed to be behind a string of multi-million pound armed raids has told how she feared she would be raped and killed.

Susan Morris, 61, was alone working on her computer at her home in Kingswood, Surrey on October 26, when the burglar crept up behind her.

Dressed in black and wearing a balaclava, he yelled at her: "I want the jewellery, take me to the safe."

She said: "He came towards me and I realised he had a sawn-off shotgun and he grabbed hold of me.

"I have actually got bruises all over my body where he had hold of me."

Ms Morris said she took him to the jewellery in her home and gave it to him, before he said to her "get on the floor".

"I actually thought he was going to rape me, I was very, very frightened," she said.

She claimed the burglar repeatedly asked for more jewellery before getting angry and hitting her three times on her face.

Ms Morris said: "It was very painful, I couldn't believe the blows kept coming."

Susan and Stephen Morris spoke out after their Surrey home was raided
PA

The burglar then tied her hands with cable ties and dragged her by her hair to another part of the house.

She suffered a broken jaw, lost a tooth and suffered bruising to her face in the assault.

He said: "It was pretty horrid and then you start feeling guilty that you weren't there, it might have been a different outcome, it might have been worse, it might have been better."

Mr Morris said that they had since upgraded security "massively" and added: "Our lives have changed since then considerably, whether we stay where we are living I don't know."

Ms Morris said that the ordeal came to an end after she told the raider that her husband, Stephen, 61, was due home soon.

The thief has carried out seven raids in total
PA

Mr Morris, a businessman, said that when he arrived his wife was hiding in a bedroom still with her wrists tied.

The "highly professional soldier" is said to be responsible for seven raids across the Home Counties each targeting goods worth at least £1 million.

Detectives said the thief’s meticulous research and use of extreme violence suggest he is currently or has previously served with the armed forces.

Detective Inspector Dee Fielding said the raids involved meticulous planning
PA

The burglar, who uses a sawn-off shotgun, is believed to stake out his targets for several weeks in order to intimately understand the comings and goings of the occupants and learn the locations of safes and valuables.

The "well-spoken, intelligent thief" is also believed to have entered some of the properties prior to the raids in order to better understand their layouts.

Detective Inspector Dee Fielding, from Surrey Police, said: "Each of these burglaries have been extremely distressing for the victims involved.

"We do not believe this to be the work of an opportunist burglar, but someone who has specialist knowledge and skills - possibly ex forces or from a similar background due to the way he has behaved and the circumstances of each incident.

"The burglaries all appear to be the work of someone who knows exactly what they are doing and who is incredibly decisive in their actions."

The raids have occurred around once every six months, Ms Fielding said, with more than £1 million worth of valuable items taken on each occasion.

In a three-year period between November 2014 and October 2017, the thief, who has left little forensic evidence, has carried out seven raids - two in Kingswood, Surrey, and others in Maidenhead, Berkshire; Chichester, West Sussex, Sevenoaks, Kent; Maidstone, Kent, and Virginia Water, Surrey

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT