Joanna de Loryn, 91, chases intruder out of Holland Park West home

A 91-year-old woman who chased an intruder from her home is heartbroken her engagement ring was stolen almost a year to the day of her husband’s death. But she won’t let evil win.

• Home invasion: Negotiate or fight?

A 91-year-old woman who chased an intruder from her home says she is heartbroken that her most precious possession - her engagement ring - was stolen almost a year to the day of her husband’s death.

Joanna (Jopie) de Loryn was in her Holland Park West home on Wednesday morning about 8am when she saw someone trying to steal her handbag.

Mrs de Loryn said she snatched the handbag from the intruder before moving towards the door.

91 year-old Joanna de Loryn fended off a home intruder at Holland Park West. Picture: Liam Kidston

Footage of the incident shows Mrs de Loryn chasing him outside, screaming “you bastard” before retreating back inside.

The break-in was the third she has had in her Holland Park home since she has lived there.

“I went to the rubbish bin to put some rubbish in the bin and then I came inside to watch this fellow taking my handbag and taking my wallet out,” she said.

“And I went out and chased him and he went out the back door and he got my wallet and my money and I snatched my handbag.

“I held onto it. And then he went down the stairs and dropped my purse, but he picked it up quickly.”

A group of neighbours came to the aid of Mrs de Loryn.

Mrs de Loryn chased the intruder outside her home. Picture: Facebook

“He walked around and I was chasing him and the neighbours were chasing him,” she said.

“We kept looking for him until I got into the bedroom.

“That’s where he came through. He cut the wire and opened the door and he got in and took my jewellery.

“So he took all my money out of my purse, took all my credit cards, and stole all my rings.”

Ms de Loryn said he had taken so much that his pockets were full.

“He must have stuck everything in his pockets, and then he came up here and then he got on to my bag,” she said.

Mrs de Loryn said within a matter of minutes the intruder had spent more than $100 on her card at a nearby petrol station.

The hardest thing about the break-in for Mrs de Loryn were all the things that were taken that meant so much to her.

Especially during a tough time for her and her family.

Mrs de Loryn’s husband Bart died on February 28, 2024.

In just two weeks it will be the one year anniversary since his death and now she will have to mourn without the things that remind her of all the best memories.

Mrs de Loryn in action after the thief struck. Source: Facebook.

“I’m shaken because I have had all the sentimental things stolen from me,” she said.

“The rings Bart bought me, those are things you’ll never get back. That’s the hardest part of it.

“I can go and buy myself another ring but it’s not the same, I don’t want to do that.”

Among the things stolen were her engagement ring, eternity rings, a watch that her husband bought her, and a wallet that was left the way he left it.

“He had his old wallet in there, it’s still got the money in his wallet.

“So I went in and he even took that one - it was something one of the grandkids wanted as a nice sentiment.

“It was his old wallet that he always had in his back pocket, he would not go outside or anywhere without his wallet. Even if there was no money, just his Medicare card.

“That really hurts me too, and they probably have tossed it in the creek because it was old and nothing else in it.”

Mrs de Loryn said while she was doing alright, it was difficult to know someone had been in her house.

“You get a bit of a fright when you know they’ve been in your house, not knowing they were there,” she said.

Mrs de Loryn had been with her husband for 65 years and built her home from scratch which had a lot of valued memories.

Joanna de Loryn has been left heartbroken. Picture: Liam Kidston

It is the third time she had been broken into, with the latest a few years ago while her husband was still alive.

“The last one I was sitting in the chair and it was 1pm,” she said.

“Bart was downstairs in his workshop, doing some woodwork and someone must have crawled in over the fence and got my hand back there.”

Police are asking any witnesses or anyone with relevant CCTV or dashcam vision to come forward.

Investigations are ongoing.

It comes as fed-up residents of a southern Brisbane suburb have formed a 3000-strong group to track crime and patrol their streets after a spate of home invasions and robberies.

Originally published as Joanna de Loryn, 91, chases intruder out of Holland Park West home