The daughter of a wealthy business executive showed remarkable courage by refusing to open a safe for two armed robbers during a terrifying raid on their Sandbanks home.
This is a story reported by the British media Daily Mail. A violent armed attack at the Aitchison family home has shaken the peaceful community of Sandbanks. Emily Aitchison and her mother, Kerry, suffered a terrifying assault by Ashley Fulton and an accomplice, posing as police officers to break into their home.
Raid at gunpoint
Ashley Fulton, 42, and an accomplice broke into the family home in February 2023, while Kerry, a 55-year-old physiotherapist and personal trainer, was alone. The criminals tied her hands and feet and threatened her. When her daughter Emily arrived, the attackers manhandled her, dragging her by her hair and threatening to burn her skin with an iron. They also said they would kill her mother if she refused to give them the code to the family safe.
Bravely, Emily refused to comply, even entering false codes to mislead the criminals, telling them that a third try would trigger an alarm. This ploy caused the thieves to panic and flee. However, before leaving the scene, they took care to ransack the property, taking with them more than £200,000 worth of valuable items.
Clues left behind lead investigators to the culprits
Despite their escape, Fulton and his accomplice left behind a lot of evidence, making the work of the police easier. Their DNA was found throughout the house, and security cameras captured their getaway vehicle, registered to Fulton. Phone records also revealed that Fulton searched online for the rare Patek Philippe watch they stole.
A conviction for violent crimes
Bournemouth Crown Court sentenced Ashley Fulton to life imprisonment, with a minimum period of nine years before a possible parole appeal. Judge William Mousley characterized Fulton as dangerous to the publicrecalling his extensive history and his diagnosis of personality disorder.
Lasting consequences for the Aitchison family
Kerry Aitchison described the psychological aftereffects of this intrusion, explaining that her home, once a refuge, became for her a place of trauma. Her daughter Emily suffered anxiety attacks and struggled to return to work. During the sentencing, the judge expressed his support for the family, hoping that they could one day turn the page. Besides Fulton, his accomplice was sentenced to 16 years in prison, and Fulton’s girlfriend, Lacey Langton, was sentenced to 14 months for trying to conceal evidence.
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