DEATH THREAT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 78, 2 April 1932, Page 3 (Supplement)

DEATH THREAT.

WOMAN ASSAILED. A woman's voice calling faintly, "Help, I am tied up," heard by a telephone operator, led to the discovery of an attack on Mrs. Violet Boyd, of Towers Road, Hatch End, Middlesex, ' by two bandits, who rang the bell, and when she opened the door knocked !her down, tied her arms with a rope and belt, threatened her with death if she cried out, and left her trussed, after ransacking the house and robbing 'her of jewellery and clothes valued at more than £50.

"My maidservant had gone out and I was alone in the 'house," Mrs. Boyd said, describing her experience. "I answered the bell and found two well-dressed, darkhaired young men at the door. One was very tall and the other short. The tall man, who acted as spokesman and had a big baig in his hand, asked me if I wanted any tooth paste. I told him I did not, and was about to close the door when he placed his foot in the doorway. "We Will Shoot." "Both men then' sprang into the hall. They knocked me down. I struggled and kicked one of them hard on the shin, but I was quickly overpowered, and they tied my arms up. tried to wriggle to bhe telephone and cried out when one of them pinched my arm very hard. 'Keep quiet or we will shoot,' they said. The men left me tied up on the floor and ransacked my room. They took all the clothing I possessed except what I was wearing. I noticed that the tall man was wearing gloves, and it struck me that he knew his way about, which is not surprising in view of the fact that we had burglars about three months ago. "He said to the little man, 'Bill, there are 'boxes in the cupboard under the stairs,' and pointed to a locker in which boxes are kept. They packed the things they had taken into these boxes and the bag which they carried, and left by the •back door. As they went one tried to snatch my wedding ring but I hung on to it. Then I managed to knock the telephone off its ledge. I could hardly reach i>he mouthpiece, but I called to the operator and she told the police and my next door neighbour, who hurried in to release me.

"Both men were wearing hard felt hats. They were between 25 and 30 years of age, clean shaven, and had dark suits. They seemed much too well dressed for the way they spoke."