By Brendan Rees
Jessica Dexter says she’ll never be able to replace her grandmother’s engagement ring after thieves raided her home.
Ms Dexter says her partner had come home from work on Wednesday 27 February to find everything had been “turned upside down.”
“They had pulled all our draws out and tipped all my handbags contents all over my bed to sort through it all,” she said.
According to Ms Dexter, the intruders forced open a side window before entering their Jillian Street home sometime between 7am and 4.30pm.
“Both my partner and I were at work at the time – only my pets were home thank god they were still there as I would have been devastated if they were gone,” she said.
Ms Dexter’s grandmother’s engagement ring was allegedly taken from a small jewellery box in her bedroom.
“Those are the things I am most upset about as both have passed away and were really all I had left to remember them by,” she said.
The intruders also took an iPad, Samsung tablet, perfume, alcohol, a passport, backpack, watches, a GoPro, Flight Centre vouchers valued at $1000, and spare car keys to her Mazda hatch.
Adding to their despair, Ms Dexter said bandits returned sometime on Thursday 28 February and during the early hours on Friday 1 March, and allegedly pinched her car from the driveway.
“We didn’t hear anything,” she explained. “I was very upset to have someone invade our home and belongings for the second time in only a few days.”
Ms Dexter immediately reported the theft to police and took to social media appealing for anyone with information about the whereabouts of her car.
She says she was getting ready to go to work when she received a message from a stranger saying he had seen her Mazda at an address in Cranbourne.
“When I finally got there I was greeted by the stranger’s wife who had also just contacted the police to let them know the car was there and was waiting for them,” she said.
“The power of Facebook is amazing.”
Detective Senior Constable Jo Macdonald of Narre Warren Crime Investigation Unit confirmed the burglary and car theft but had no suspects at this stage.
Ms Dexter said she didn’t feel safe in her own home and was in the process of moving to Gippsland.
“I grew up in Cranbourne and it’s really sad to think that this is what it has become.
“We shouldn’t have to live in fear of our homes being invaded and question if our community is safe,” she said.
