Drug-fuelled crime spree: Hillside mum living in fear after terrifying daylight home invasion
A MOTHER who was beaten, gagged and then bound with a telephone cord in a terrifying daylight home invasion has told how she lives in constant fear.
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A MOTHER who was beaten, gagged and then bound with a telephone cord in a terrifying daylight home invasion has told how she lives in constant fear.
Marisa Bonacci bravely fought back tears as she read out in the County Court how the burglary on her Hillside home by ice addicts Matthew Mesley and Joshua Wood had impacted her.
“My life is not the same anymore,” Ms Bonacci said, who appeared via video link from a remote location as she couldn’t bear to face her attackers.
“I’m not sure how to live my life without fear.”
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The mother of three detailed how her paranoia sees her always looking over her shoulder and checking every 15 minutes that each door and window is locked in her home.
And if she sees violence on TV she has to “close my eyes in horror” as it reminds her of the terror of that day.
“I can’t stress enough how I’m always going to be in disbelief that this happened to me minding my own business in my own home,” she said.
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Mesley, 27, and Wood, 18, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to the home invasion as part of a drug-fuelled crime spree in May last year.
The pair had also burgled two other homes in the lead up to targeting Ms Bonacci, stealing guns, fishing equipment, jewellery and electronic devices.
The court heard Wood was on bail over an aggravated carjacking at the time.
Mesley had only months earlier been freed after serving a full six-year term for another shocking aggravated burglary.
The pair — who met when Mesley started dating Wood’s cousin — were caught on CCTV knocking on the doors of homes on Speargrass Dr, Hillside, northwest of Melbourne, on May 15.
About 10.30am, Wood knocked on Ms Bonacci’s house, where she was inside watching a movie.
When no-one answered they brazenly broke in.
Ms Bonacci at first thought her daughter had returned home when she heard noises in the kitchen.
But on inspecting, she was confronted by the two thugs, who rushed at her armed with a knife and screwdriver.
“Where is the money? Where is the safe and the gold?” Wood yelled at her.
When she said the money was in the bank, Mesley replied: “Well, looks like we’ll have to go for a ride then.”
Wood held a knife to her face and demanded she take off her jewellery.
Hesitant to remove her necklace which bore a treasured cross pendant, he said: “Take it off or I’ll f——— kill you.”
Mesley later punched her in the face, leaving her disorientated, weak and with blood pouring from her nose.
Begging them to leave and not kill her, she was then forced from room to room as more demands were made, and she suffered more blows to the back of the head.
She was eventually dragged into her garage where she was made to help pack stolen items into her car.
Her mouth was duct-taped and a telephone cord ripped from the wall used to tie her up. So overwhelmed with fear while this was happening, Ms Bonacci passed out.
Mesley then fled in her car with her phone, power tools, and musical equipment including guitars and amps among the loot, while Wood left in the car they’d arrived in.
Ms Bonacci later regained consciousness and ran to her neighbours for help.
She was taken to hospital suffering a broken nose and a deep laceration to her finger, but so deeply traumatised by what had happened, she had to be sedated.
Judge Gavan Meredith noted the seriousness of the offending, emphasising the maximum penalty for a home invasion is now at 25 years.
He will sentence the pair at a later date.