Stephen, the woman’s brother, discovered a shocking scene when he visited her Kew residence on December 28. The front door was dislodged, and the entire house had been thoroughly ransacked.
Authorities believe that unidentified perpetrators targeted the property multiple times, making off with paintings, jewelry, and various items valued at over $400,000.
“The front door was wide open,” Stephen recounted. “As soon as I stepped inside, it was clear what was missing—vacuum cleaners, tools, watches, cameras.”
According to Stephen, the emotional toll on his sister is immense. “In her words, it’s no longer a home, just a house. She’s lost everything.”
He added, “She’s devastated and breaks into tears whenever we speak.”
The woman has been receiving long-term medical care and hasn’t lived at the property for over a year.
That means the period her home may have been ransacked stretches from December 2024 to December 2025.
Some of the stolen items include a John Perceval “Sunflowers” painting worth more than $75,000; three Cris Canning paintings worth between $30,000 and $50,000 apiece; two antique Chinese paintings worth more than $10,000 each; and a pearl strand worth more than $50,000.
The thief or thieves also stole significant family heirlooms and what police describe as a “substantial” wine collection.
None of the items were insured.
Police are appealing for anybody who may have noticed suspicious activity in the area, or who recognises any of the items, to come forward.
“This incident has been extremely distressing and had considerable impact on the victim,” Detective Sergeant Warren Atkinson said.
“The list of items stolen is excessive, well above $400,000, however we’re unable to estimate a value of several of these items so it is expected the actual accumulative amount is much higher.”
He said some items had strong sentimental value as well, including a sculpture the victim bought about 50 years ago in Germany.
“I think they’ve probably attended the address on the first occasion to do a burglary, identified no one was living at the address and then they’ve re-attended several times,” Atkinson said.
“It’s made it extremely difficult to pinpoint where to start.”
The public is asked to keep their eyes peeled for the items, as the criminals are expected to try to on-sell them.
“A lot of them are very distinctive items … just hopefully somebody out there can recognise them or has seen them somehow and can contact the police,” Stephen said.
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