Bath-Time Burglar Caught Red-Handed After Creepy Break-Ins
Older Victims Targeted in Shocking Home Invasions
John Boothby, 54, struck up a chat about leaflets with his first victim on 20 July outside her Monument Street home. The 84-year-old woman politely asked him to leave and went about her day. But later, after waking from a nap, she found Boothby inside her house.
Stranger in the Bath – And Swiping Cherished Treasures
When confronted, Boothby quickly apologised and dashed off — clutching the woman’s handbag, which he dropped in the garden. Upstairs, the horrified pensioner found her bathtub overflowing with taps still running, and Boothby’s T-shirt on the floor. He had run himself a bath and swiped a cherished wedding ring from her late mother, decades of anniversary telegrams (including one from the Queen), plus other jewellery.
Notorious Burglar Strikes Again – Caught in the Shower!
Less than two hours later, Boothby slipped into another home on Dickens Street. The 80-year-old owner found him half-dressed in her shower, having sneaked in unnoticed through the downstairs bathroom.
“In all my years as a police officer I haven’t ever come across anyone quite like Boothby,” said DC Adam Blake. “He entered the homes of two elderly women who lived alone, to take advantage of their vulnerability.”
Clues Lead Police to Boothby’s Arrest
On 21 July, a 60-year-old woman spotted a strange set of keys inside a ‘bag for life’ in her larder. Assuming her cat had brought them in, she didn’t think much of it until she found one of her handbags outside with a pen balanced on top. Feeling uneasy, she alerted police.
A fingerprint on the pen matched Boothby’s. He was already in custody for the Eastfield break-ins.
Boothby, of no fixed address, denied three counts of burglary but was found guilty on all charges last week at Cambridge Crown Court. On Tuesday 22 December, he was jailed for three years.
