Wheelchair-bound man, 87, forced to watch intruder search Malak home
UPDATE: A HELPLESS elderly man has spoken out after he was forced to watch in horror from his wheelchair as an intruder spent 15 minutes turning his Malak home upside down looking for cash on Friday night
Northern Territory
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A HELPLESS elderly man was forced to watch in horror from his wheelchair as an intruder spent 15 minutes turning his Malak home upside down looking for cash on Friday night.
Norris Gray, 87, was home alone watching television in his Malak unit at around 8.45pm when a man broke through his back window and began demanding money.
When Mr Gray answered that he didn’t have any cash on hand, the intruder began ransacking his home searching for valuables as the retired carpenter watched on from his wheelchair.
“There was a lot of banging and crashing going on,” he said. “He went through every bag.”
The intruder eventually left around 15 minutes later, making off with Mr Gray’s mobile phone which he had only purchased last week for $370.
Police are investigating the incident, with officers dusting for prints in the early hours of Saturday morning.
NT Police on Saturday described the offending man as being Aboriginal in appearance, 6 feet tall, aged approximately in his thirties and of a skinny build.
The man was wearing a dark blue short-sleeved polo shirt and blue faded jeans during the ordeal.
Mr Gray was assessed by St Johns Ambulance and was described as being “shaken” by the ordeal.
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Mr Gray’s ex-wife and carer Susan Gray, who lives at the property but was out at bingo during the break-in, said she was traumatised and scared to live in her own home.
“He said he’s going to come back, because he’s after me for money,” Ms Gray said.
She said local criminals had been led to believe she kept money on the property.
“When my mail comes they open my bank statements and they see I have money,” she said.
“I just save a little money for Christmas, I have 21 grandkids.”
Ms Gray said she “felt scared” about the ordeal and would be making arrangements to move out of the house.
“Norris was really traumatised.”
The Sunday Territorian visited the property on Saturday, and was shown security screen which had been violently pulled back to allow the intruder to gain access through a back window.
Police are urging anyone with information about the offender or the incident to call 131 444.
It’s not the first time a wheelchair-bound man has suffered at the hands of robbers in Malak. In November 2020 a 67-year-old man was knocked from his chair by intruders in his own home.
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