Another young Mandurah mother has been left severely shaken up after thieves broke into her home while she, her partner, and their 10-month-old daughter slept.
Create a free account to read this article
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The incident comes just days after an incident where a different home in Mandurah was robbed with a single mother and her son inside the home at the time.
Abbey Pitcher says after events that unfolded on February 12 at her Coodanup home, she "no longer feels safe" and fears the thieves might return.
"We woke up around 8 o'clock on Saturday because that's when my daughter woke up - I was just walking around the house like I do in the morning and suddenly saw that my laundry door was wide open."
Abbey noticed her blinds were bent and ripped above the cat-door, and that the study and bathrooms had been rifled through.
Most alarming, was that her 10-month-old daughter Aurora's door was open.
"We always have our daughter's door shut at night. I'd fallen asleep on the couch and my partner was in our room."
Upon further investigation, Abbey realised that a number of items had been taken, including her husband's wallet and car keys, watches, shoes and a backpack full of new clothes which were presents for Aurora's first birthday.
"They had taken stuff from the bedside table, right next to my partner's face - they don't seem to have any fear.
"They've opened the gate, gotten through the pet door and unlocked the glass laundry door from there."
Abbey said she was alarmed by how quiet the thieves had been when, as a light sleeper, she would always wake up at the slightest noise.
"I wake up to the smallest sound from my daughter, to my cats coming in - it's scary how they can be so quiet.
"I know I can't fit through the cat door, which makes me think these must be young people... I don't think an adult would fit through."
Read more: String of theft from vehicles hits Mandurah
Forensics attended the scene and collected a palm print from the family's laundry floor, but Abbey said results can take a week to come back and the handprint could belong to her or her partner.
"We don't feel safe anymore - we slept at my mum's house last night because we didn't want to stay here anymore.
"It's not like it's easy to move - there's a rental crisis, all the prices have gone up."
Despite thieves taking her partner's car keys, Abbey said they left the car behind with a smashed window - an issue they had experienced at their home previously.
"The window was smashed even though the car was unlocked - my partner's car windows have been smashed multiple times - I can't even think of how many times. We don't leave anything in the car."
Abbey and her family are now left to pick up the pieces with both valuable and sentimental items lost, as well as high levels of anxiety in the space that is supposed to be their sanctuary.
"We did some door knocking to look for CCTV. It's hard, because sometimes police can take a few hours to get here."
She said she hoped her story would act as a cautionary tale for other families, urging them to secure their homes and keep an eye out, so it wouldn't happen to anyone else.
Samantha Ferguson
Samantha Ferguson is a journalist at the Mandurah Mail. She is an entertainment, sport, crime, community and education journalist with a special interest in investigative pieces and human interest stories.
Samantha Ferguson is a journalist at the Mandurah Mail. She is an entertainment, sport, crime, community and education journalist with a special interest in investigative pieces and human interest stories.
