Burglars poured boiling water over couple’s heads
TWO “barbaric” burglars tied up a couple and poured boiling water over their heads before jetting to Dubai on a spending spree, a court heard.
Kacey Adams, 34, and 33-year-old Daniel Wallace smashed their way into their victims’ bungalow in Halstead, near Sevenoaks, Kent.
Janis Buswell, 64, had been knitting clothes for her expected greatgrandchild, who was born the month after the attack, and her 66-year-old husband, John, was watching a boxing match on the TV.
The men tied up Mr and Mrs Buswell with cable ties before subjecting them to two hours of torture to demand the codes to their safes, said prosecutor Tracy Ayling QC.
Adams and Wallace, together with a third man who has never been caught, made off with around £50,000 on April 26, 2016.
They were arrested on a flight back from Dubai in May 2016, and their luggage was found to contain more than £18,000 worth of luxury goods.
Adams, formerly of Covert Road, Hainault, Ilford, London, and Wallace, of no fixed address, both admitted aggravated burglary and causing grievous bodily harm with intent at an earlier hearing at Maidstone Crown Court.
The two men smirked and chatted to each other throughout yesterday’s sentencing hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court.
The defendants had tipped a kettle of boiling water over Mrs Buswell’s head, which made Mr Buswell so angry that he broke free from his cable ties, the court heard.
The men, wearing all black, threatened Mr Buswell with a knife, and he took them to a first safe in a bathroom containing between £3,000 and £5,000.
Adams wore a mask throughout and Wallace had a hoody drawn tight around his face.
They then tipped a second kettle of boiling water over Mrs Buswell and said they knew there was more money.
“She was screaming in terrible pain,” said Ms Ayling.
Mr Buswell took the men to a second safe, hidden under the floor, which contained around £40,000.
Judge Charles Gratwicke is expected to sentence the men at Chelmsford Crown Court on Monday.