Bebo founder’s mansion raided by thieves who fled with £500,000 in watches and bags
The founder of Bebo and his wife have hit out at police after they closed the case following a £500,000 raid on their home.
Paul and Juliana Birch returned to their Surrey mansion on December 11 after an evening celebrating their daughter’s 17th birthday.
But while they were out, their house was ransacked.
CCTV shows the thieves stalking through the garden and looking around the house before using a crowbar on a kitchen door to get in.
They are then seen going from room to room, filling their bags with an estimated 200 items and leaving behind a trail of destruction.
Juliana compiled a list of things she believes were taken in the raid. Among them were:
- Pink and silver Rolex watch – £6,000
- Seven Chanel handbags, including one worth £6,000
- Six Hermes and Birkin Bags wroth between £3,800 and £6,000 each
- Seven Dior handbags, incluindg one worth £8,600
- Three silver Tiffany necklaces
- Several pairs of Louboutin heels
- Engraved wedding bands
- A wedding gift of 12 Mexican gold coins
She said the officer in charge paused the investigation after just two weeks to take his Christmas break, and when they asked for an update last week they were told the case had been closed ‘because there was not enough evidence’.
Juliana told MailOnline: ‘For weeks I was terrified. I was shaking all the time, crying. I was so scared to the point I started walking around my own house with a knife just in case.
‘When they finally sent a policewoman more than 12 hours after we called, [she] didn’t even bother to review the CCTV footage.
‘Then we were told the officer in charge was going on holiday and would contact us in the new year. He never did. So my daughter called the police three or four days ago and found out the case had been closed.
‘It was very upsetting. The officer in charge kept asking for proof I really did own the items, and from the tone of his voice it was like he didn’t believe me.
‘That is why these awful crooks get away with so many things, because it’s like the police are more interested in protecting the criminals than us, the targets.’
A Surrey Police spokesman said the investigation was shelved because there were ‘no further positive lines of inquiry’.
They added: ‘Officers attended the scene to take DNA samples but there were no matches.
‘They were unable to run the CCTV images through the national database due to them not being clear.’
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