Daughter finds mum tied to kitchen table after horror home invasion
A woman was chased down a hallway, dragged by the hair and cable tied to a kitchen table during a terrifying home invasion near Brisbane.
Police & Courts
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A woman has been assaulted and tied to her own kitchen table in a shocking alleged home invasion south of Brisbane on Wednesday afternoon.
Angie Browne was home alone at the family’s Mount Cotton Rd home in Sheldon when a man broke into her house.
Mrs Browne was chased down the hallway, assaulted and dragged by her hair and cable tied by an unknown man who police say broke into her home at random.
The terrifying ordeal, which occurred sometime after 11.49am Wednesday, caused Mrs Browne to black out temporarily, while she was later cable tied in her lounge room as an offender rummaged through her home.
Talking of the incident on Thursday morning, Detective Inspector Stephen Hollands of the Queensland Police East Crime Group said Mrs Browne was alerted to someone inside her home when she heard the sound of property being smashed.
He described the incident as “cowardly.”
“This is the most cowardly type of offence that we can investigate,” Det Insp Hollands said.
“We’ve got an innocent lady going about her business in her own home and we have a person or persons breaking into her home and assaulting her. I don’t think the community would say there’s anything lower than what’s happened.”
Det Insp Hollands said Mrs Browne had tried to flee down the hallway after learning someone was in her home.
“She observed a male offender in the kitchen area and this offender saw the victim, and chased her down the hall as she tried to take refuge in the bathroom,” Det Insp Hollands said.
“She was assaulted by this offender which caused her to black out temporarily. The offender then grabbed her by the hair and led her down the hall back to the kitchen where she was further assaulted.
“She was then dragged to the lounge room where she was tied up with cable ties around her hands and secured to a piece of furniture in the lounge room of the house.”
Det Insp Hollands said the man remained in the house for about 30 minutes, while Mrs Browne believes there was likely a second offender present.
“She heard voices however she did not hear, nor is she able to describe the second offender,” Det Insp Hollands said.
It was Mrs Browne’s daughter who found her mum bruised and cable tied in the lounge room.
The adult daughter immediately alerted police about 3pm.
Mrs Browne was taken to the Redland Hospital where she was treated for shock, cuts and abrasions.
A crime scene remains in place at the family home, where Mrs Browne lives with her husband and adult children.
Police have not yet determined if property had been stolen from the home, however still believe the violent break and enter was at random.
“There is no evidence at all to suggest that the victim was targeted, and at this state we are treating it as a random incident,” Det Insp Hollands said.
“As you can imagine, a very distressing time for her and we’ll be very cognisant of not only her physical wellbeing, but also her emotional and mental health.”
Police are urging the community to stay vigilant, as they make an appeal for information.
Detectives wish to speak with anyone who witnessed anything suspicious, or has relevant CCTV or dashcam footage from Mt Cotton Rd and Sheldon Rd between the area of Linden Rd and Greenfield Rd around 11am to 3pm.
The male offender observed by Mrs Browne is described as caucasian, tall and skinny and aged between early to mid 20s.
He was wearing a baseball flat cap style cap, a hoodie and bumbag at the time of the break in.
Det Insp Hollands reminded the community to be aware, but not alarmed of the potential dangers of break and enters.
He said locking windows and doors- even when at home- was important.
“These incidents are very rare, luckily,” he said.
Police are reviewing all crime within the Sheldon area and surrounds, and are trying to determine if other earlier crimes in the area could be linked.
He said the area is usually quiet and there is no indication of a crime wave for the region.
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