Hunt for mystery Night Watcher who terrorised wealthy homeowners over £10m haul
A violent jewel thief dubbed the Night Watcher who has stolen over £10million worth of valuables has been linked to four more burglaries.
The shotgun-wielding robber, who has terrorised wealthy householders, continues to evade police despite being the target of a manhunt for six years. The masked thief is now believed to have raided 17 homes. Detectives think he may be a former soldier using military training to carry out the attacks and avoid detection. Police have linked him to four raids, three in Kent and one in London, since 2019 when they last released details about his crimes. During the robbery in the capital in 2021, he attacked two women in their home.
Susan after the robbery (PA)The pair needed hospital treatment after the raid on the Keston Park estate in Bromley, South East London. The remaining three offences were in the Tonbridge area of Kent – one each in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Working alone, the robber selects isolated properties in affluent areas and carries out night-time reconnaissance to analyse homeowners’ daily routines and security arrangements. The crimes began 2006 but it was not until 2017 that police linked them.
He has struck across the South East, including in Berkshire and Surrey. Victims include the Duke and Duchess of Richmond, who were attacked in their stately home, Goodwood House, in Westhampnett, West Sussex, in 2016. They were tied up and forced to hand over heirlooms valued at £700,000.
The Duke of Richmond (PA)In another break-in, the Night Watcher kicked a pregnant woman in the stomach. He left another woman, Susan Morris, fearing she was going to be raped and murdered. Susan, then 61, suffered a broken jaw and lost a tooth in 2017 when she was attacked in her Surrey home by the thug armed with a sawn-off shotgun.
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A police spokeswoman said: “ Kent Police is [investigating] a series of five burglaries between November 2016 and January 2022 where isolated properties have been targeted. It is reported that on each occasion a lone offender threatened victims in order to steal cash and high value possessions including jewellery and watches. Victims have been threatened with a firearm and restrained with cable ties and ropes. Inquiries have included extensive review of any CCTV, as well as a full forensic review of each burglary. Officers are also continuing to work closely with other police forces, where similar burglaries have taken place.”
Police on the case previously issued a CCTV still of an armed raider at a home in Maidenhead, Berks, in 2015. The Night Watcher most recently struck almost two years ago, meaning this would be the longest period he has gone without offending since his second known burglary in 2009.
Timeline of terror
January 2006 - Leatherhead, Surrey
January 2009 - Weybridge, Surrey
September 2011 - Weybridge
May 2013 - Virginia Water, Surrey
November 2014 - Tadworth, Surrey
January 2015 - Maidenhead, Berks
June 2015 - Virginia Water
January 2016 - Goodwood, W Sussex
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November 2016 - Sevenoaks, Kent
January 2017 - Maidstone, Kent
April 2017 - Virginia Water
October 2017 - Tadworth
February 2019 - Reigate, Surrey
August 2020 - Tonbridge, Kent
September 2021 - Tonbridge
October 2021 - Bromley, London
January 2022 - Tonbridge
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