A Brighton East grandmother who stared down two masked men inside her lounge room has called for harsher penalties for violent offenders, saying the community has “had enough” of rising home invasions.
Seventy-six-year-old Margaret Lewis was woken by a deafening crash at about 1.30am on Monday before finding two strangers in her home demanding her car keys. One of the men was armed with a knife.
“I just froze for a moment,” Margaret said, recalling the terrifying ordeal at her Arnold Road home. “He had the knife raised so I could see it, and he said, ‘Give me your keys.’ I told him, ‘No, get out of my house.’”
Margaret, dressed in her dressing gown, said instinct kicked in when she realised what was happening. Her daughter, who was staying the night, ran into the room screaming, which startled the intruders and forced them to flee empty handed.
CCTV footage later captured two hooded figures jumping the fence and breaking a side door before escaping in a white four-wheel drive. Police arrived within minutes but the offenders had already vanished.
While neither Margaret nor her daughter was physically injured, the emotional toll has been significant. “I’ve lived here for over forty years,” she said. “I never thought I’d have to face something like this. You should feel safe in your own home.”
Detective Senior Constable Candice Taylor said the women’s response was remarkably brave but warned that confronting armed offenders can be extremely dangerous. “The victims’ actions were courageous, but these situations can escalate very quickly,” she said.
Police have described the incident as “brazen” and “traumatic,” and are continuing to investigate whether the offenders are linked to a series of similar burglaries in Melbourne’s south-east.
Bayside residents have been shaken by a recent spike in crime, with police data showing a 13 per cent increase in overall offences in the past year, including a doubling of aggravated burglaries.
Margaret, however, says statistics mean little to victims who have had their sense of safety shattered. She is now calling on the state government to strengthen penalties and make offenders face real consequences.
“Too many of them just get a slap on the wrist,” she said. “It’s not right. People are frightened to go to sleep at night. We need tougher sentences, more prisons if we have to, and proper rehabilitation for those who can be helped. Something has to change.”
Despite her ordeal, the grandmother-of-four refuses to live in fear. “I won’t let them win,” she said firmly. “But I do want to see justice done. If the law doesn’t protect us, then what good is it?”
Police are urging anyone with information about the home invasion to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a confidential report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au
