British property owner of some 45 years, Pauline Turner, yesterday made an emotional plea for help in recovering hundreds of thousands of euros worth of jewellery which were stolen from her Bendinat apartment in July 2015.
In 1997, her late husband was the target of two robberies. The first was in the car park outside the auditorium in Palma and was a robbery with assault.
"We had been to the opera and Lesley was opening the car door when suddenly this man came out of nowhere, slammed his arm in between the door and twisted his Rolex so hard that the strap snapped. He and his accomplice fled the scene on a scooter. Lesley was a strong man but his wrist was extremely swollen.
"Later that year we were at the airport. I was taking most of the jewellery back to the UK. Somebody distracted Lesley, who was watching the bags while I nipped off to get a trolley, and ran off with my jewellery box. I don’t know if they were the same people, who knows, but it was a bit of a coincidence," Pauline Turner told the Bulletin yesterday.
Eventually, they decided to move to a luxury development in Bendinat. "The main attraction was the high level of security offered, and we paid dearly for it in the community rates.
"After my husband passed away and I had sold the car, I popped into Palma. It was 15 July, 2015. Never mind getting into the complex, security was supposed to be tight getting into the residential buildings.
"I returned home at around 3.15pm and noticed that the small kitchen window was open. I thought nothing of it at first; maybe the wind had blown it open. But when I went into the bedroom, I realised that my jewellery boxes had gone, including a diamond ring which was extremely valuable: ‘my insurance’ Lesley had called it.
"I immediately contacted the Guardia Civil and the office for the residential complex. We managed to ascertain that at around 2.30pm the gardener had passed by the kitchen window and was sure that it was closed.
"The Guardia Civil checked over the property, which had not been disturbed in any way, and noticed that two little screws had been removed from the window. The Guardia Civil said that it was a two-person job and suspected it was more than likely an inside one, as whoever stole my jewels knew exactly where they were. There were laptops and phones, but they were left alone.
"The Guardia Civil, who have not closed the case, told me two weeks ago that they were about to conduct another series of interviews of staff at the complex. They also told me that they suspected that I had been under surveillance. I desperately wanted to move, but couldn’t while the investigation was very much alive, so I installed an attack alarm and my own extra security. I was terrified. One thing is being targeted in the street or airport car park, but in your own home. All I can say is thank goodness I was not there when they broke in. But I still feel upset and vulnerable."
2 comments
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They should have the place covered in cameras. They are extremely cheap, easy to install and data can be stored easily for future viewiing. There can be no excuses for lack of surveillance in a luxury place like this.
I feel very sorry for you and but why did you not just have all your jewelry and smaller valuables placed in a bank safe deposit box.?