Yahoo News Simon Cowell says he lives in ‘constant fear’ after burglary
Simon Cowell has said he lives in "constant fear" and concern about his young son's welfare after his home was burgled by a serial offender who later killed a motorcyclist in a hit-and-run.
The music mogul was asleep at his Holland Park property in west London, as were his partner Lauren Silverman and their two-year-old son Eric, when burglar Darren February broke in through a patio door and stole almost £1 million worth of jewellery.
Just 10 days after the raid the 33-year-old crashed a stolen car on the wrong side of the road into Kenneth Baldwin, a father, who he left to die a short drive from Cowell's home.
February, 33, was jailed for eight years on Wednesday, which he will serve in addition to the eight and half years he is already serving for causing death by dangerous driving.
In a statement read at Isleworth Crown Court, Cowell said the incident had been “very traumatic” and had left his family fearing that it “may be worse next time.”
"This incident has caused me great concerns about the security of my family. On reflection I am very scared of what could have happened to my son if the burglar had gone into his room.
"I could not bear to think of the consequences and also a lot would have happened if the burglar had come into our room."
Cowell, who has lived at the property in the well-to-do area of the capital for 10 years, said he, his partner and Eric's nannies "have become much more anxious over safety issues relating to my son's care and well-being".
He said he couldn’t bring himself to think what could have happened if February, who has a string of previous convictions dating back to when he was aged 12, had gone into Eric's room in the 17 minutes he spent inside the house.
February's trial heard how the safe had been left open as Ms Silverman wanted to quietly get her jewellery ahead of a flight that morning.
The court heard on Wednesday that around £950,000 worth of property was stolen, including a ring worth £500,000, earrings, watches and a diamond bracelet. Items totalling £830,000 are yet to be recovered.
A security guard at the property admitted he must have been at the toilet at the time of the burglary in the early hours of December 4 2015.
February was on licence for burglary and public order offences at the time of the break-in.
His DNA was found on gloves dropped as he fled the scene of the crime, and a handprint on a wall of Cowell's property.
He was also identified by a private security guard doing an overnight patrol as he attempted to flee, and two police officers who knew of his lengthy record.
Giles Newell, mitigating, said the burglar had suffered a "difficult childhood", having grown up in care.
Sentencing, Judge Martin Edmunds QC said the 33-year-old had an "appalling previous record" and had not shown "any remorse or regret".
He added: “You spent a period of 17 minutes within the house before emerging from the front door to make off, by now with a bag, Mr Cowell's bag in hand.
“Whilst within the house, and having left muddy footprints over the ground floor in your search, you went up to the first floor where Mr Cowell and Ms Silverman lay sleeping in their bedroom and entered the dressing room next door and took two of Mr Cowell's passports and watches and jewellery to the value of approximately £950,000.
“This occurred whilst Mr Cowell's son and his nanny were sleeping on the floor above and despite the presence of a security guard in the basement.
“However much you wished to avoid detection the very act of entering a person's home at night creates the risk of confrontation and violence.
“As with so many others, Mr Cowell says that the whole incident has been very traumatic and there is a constant fear it may be repeated, leading to the need constantly to re-assess his family's security.
“Your offence must be seen against the background of an appalling previous record. Your first conviction at at the age of 12 was for the burglary of a person's home and since then you have offended whenever you have been free to do so in a whole range of ways.
“I can find no gap in your record to show that you have, at any time since the age of 12 interrupted your offending and the current burglary is one committed whilst you were on license for other burglary offences.
“The time when your difficult childhood can mitigate the sentences you will now receive is long gone.”
