A 22-year-old’s quick thinking saved her and her mother from being shot during a raid on their home by robbers pretending to be police officers.
Emily Aitchison was held at gunpoint by Ashley Fulton with her mother Kerry at their Poole Harbour home in February 2023.
Fulton was joined by a friend, who for legal reason cannot be named, both wearing fake police uniform and tricked their way into the home.
They pulled Emily around the house by her hair and threatened to burn her with an iron.
They also told her they would shoot her 55-year-old mother in front of her if she didn’t open the safe.
Bravely, the women refused with Emily wrongly entering the code twice before telling them if she did it a third time it would trigger the alarm.
The robbers panicked and fled but not before ransacking the £2.5 million house and stealing more than £200,000 of luxury watches, designer handbags, jewellery, cash and their mobile phones.
Mrs Aitchison’s husband Mark is the chief executive officer of Colten Care, which owns 21 care homes in the south of England.
Fulton and his accomplice said they were doing door to door enquiries about a rape on the seafront two days before.
But as Mrs Aitchinson leaned in to look at their ID one put a gloved hand over her mouth and said ‘if you shut up and behave yourself you won’t get hurt’.
Mike Mason, prosecuting, told Bournemouth Crown Court Mrs Aitchison was pushed on the floor ‘quite violently’ and her hands and feet were tied.
Daughter Emily then returned home from lunch and the robbers began threatening her.
Mr Mason said: ‘One said to her “we are f***ing robbing you, you’re going to end up dead” and dragged her through the hall. She saw her mum lying on the ground with her hands behind her back.
‘Her mum was crying and said “you need to do as they ask, this is real”.
‘One said “if you don’t tell us the key to your safe, we are going to murder your mum”. They put the gun to Emily’s head and said to Kerry “this is your last chance, if you don’t tell us we are going to kill your daughter”.
‘Mrs Aitchison told the two men “you are the scum of the earth, that’s our future, our investment, you have ruined people’s lives by what you have done today” – it takes quite a bit of guts to say that.’
Fulton and his accomplice made a number of errors and left behind a trail of evidence and clues that led police to their door.
They left their DNA all over the property and their getaway car was caught on CCTV and found to be registered to Fulton’s address.
When police found the vehicle they recovered vapes inside with their DNA on.
Mobile phone records later showed Fulton had Googled the exact rare model of Patek Philippe watch they had stolen two hours after the heist.
Police also found online orders he made for police ID wallets and lanyards.
Sitting at Bournemouth Crown Court Judge William Mousley said Fulton posed a ‘significant risk to the public’ and gave him a life sentence, stating he would have to serve a minimum of nine years and 192 days before he can be considered for parole.
Mrs Aitchison told the court of the impact the heist has had on the family.
She said: “Home should feel a safe place, a sanctuary, a haven. For me it’s a crime scene where I thought myself and my daughter would be killed. I am a mere shadow of my former self because of this violent intrusion.
“Gone is the positive, vibrant outgoing woman and in her place is someone I don’t recognise.”
She tearfully recalled that the terror etched on her daughter’s face during their ordeal will live with her forever.
Emily struggled to leave the house for six weeks, suffered panic attacks and was unable to use the front door.
None of the Aitchisons’ valuables were recovered.
Judge Mousley said: “Kerry and Emily Aitchison were subjected to a terrifying ordeal, robbed at gunpoint in their home by two men who tied them up and threatened to shoot and kill them.
“The two men stole in excess of £200,000 worth of property belonging to them and Mark Aitchison. That would have been more if they had been able to gain access to a safe in the house.
“The psychological harm was severe, they were both terrified.”
He praised mother and daughter for their ‘courageous’ personal statements which ‘powerfully expressed’ the impact the ordeal had on them.”
The court heard Fulton had been diagnosed with a personality disorder and put on medication, but that he was suitable for the normal sentencing procedure.
Judge Mousley told him: ‘You are a dangerous offender, you pose a significant risk of serious harm to the public based on the facts of this case, your previous convictions and your diagnosis of a personality disorder.
‘There’s nothing I have read or heard about your personal situation to provide any reasonable cause to consider any alternative to life in prison.’
Speaking to the family he added: ‘I want to share my strong feelings of support for the Aitchison family. These proceedings have taken a long time and I am sorry for that. I hope you can start to move forward and as far as you can put some of this behind you.’
Fulton admitted two counts of robbery, possession of an imitation firearm, three offences of fraud and three of possessing ID documents with improper intent, one of possession of an article for use in fraud and possession of cocaine.
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