Brisbane home invasion: Woman, elderly mother ‘bashed with brick’

A Brisbane woman allegedly assaulted along with her elderly mother by a brick-wielding home invader has told how she didn’t think she would survive the traumatic incident. GRAPHIC IMAGES

The Brisbane woman feared she would die in the incident. Picture: Adam Head

• Ruled out: Self-defence law

A Brisbane woman and her elderly mother have allegedly been bashed with a brick by an intruder who was rummaging through their belongings when they arrived home.

Police allege a 51-year-old man broke into the women’s home at Red Hill about 11.15am on February 13 while the two weren’t home.

The two women, aged 83 and 48, had only been out of the house for 15 minutes when they arrived home, allegedly disturbing the man, who then used a brick to assault both of them.

The woman, who asked not to be named, told The Courier-Mail she thought she wasn’t going to make it when she was being hit on the pavement.

Images given to The Courier-Mail show painful bruises both women sustained to their arms and bodies, including their mouths and teeth.

Facial injuries allegedly inflicted by a brick

The woman said she had previously been broken into but she had never felt the way she did two weeks ago.

“About 20 years ago when I was sharing with my friends, I got broken into but this wasn’t like that. I feared for my life this time,” she said.

“This is a guy who I never met and it was something that was on a different level. I really seriously thought I was either going to be severely injured or would be gone.”

Since the incident, the woman said it had been extremely difficult for her family.

“I have obviously been up and down, very jumpy, and very sensitive to noise. All of us, including our daughter, even though she wasn’t here,” she said.

“She saw how the house was left. When she came to the hospital with my partner she saw her grandmother lying in the bed with the blood to her face and laceration to her lip.”

Bruising allegedly inflicted by a home invader

The woman said she hated constantly being on edge.

“We are sick and tired of being like that because this is where we live,” she said. “This is our house, we should be able to relax and chill and be who we are and not worry if someone’s going to walk in or be in the house.”

The woman said she had really struggled until she got support from vocal advocacy group Voice for Victims, who helped with Victims Assist.

Investigations led police to a residence at Slacks Creek in Logan, where they arrested a 51-year-old Crestmead man.

He was charged with two counts of armed robbery and one count each of enter dwelling with intent by break, serious assault person over 60 and assault occasioning bodily harm whist armed.

He has been remanded in custody and is next expected to appear before Brisbane Magistrates Court on March 17.

The scene of the incident

Originally published as Brisbane home invasion: Woman, elderly mother ‘bashed with brick’