A woman was beaten and kidnapped in front of her young granddaughter when a masked gang forced their way into her home on Christmas Day.
The 69-year-old victim was watching tv with her eight-year-old granddaughter on December 25, 2019, when there was a knock at the door at Cleveland Close, Kirkby.
Sarah Howitt pretended to need help before two masked men, now known to be Gary Groves and Geoffrey Hayes, forced their way into the property and searched for valuable items.
While in the property, a woman was assaulted and later forced her into her own car - an Audi TT – before it was driven away by Hayes. The car was then involved in a collision shortly afterwards on Bank Lane in Melling and the victim sustained serious injuries.
Gary Groves, 55, of Jean Walk, Fazakerley, was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday, June 23. He is the third person to be jailed for this incident and was found guilty of robbery following a trial last month, the Liverpool Echo reports.
Groves was handed 14 years behind bars. His two accomplices, who were sentenced in December 2020. Geoffrey Hayes, 47, of no fixed abode, was jailed for 14 and a half years. Sarah Howitt, 42, of Gloucester Street, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, was jailed for four and a half years.
Liverpool Crown Court previously heard that the victim was Hayes' aunt. She was slashed and battered by her nephew as her granddaughter looked on in horror.
Hayes was armed with a foot long knife when he and his girlfriend Howitt, and Groves stormed the house. He sliced open his aunt's left ear then kidnapped the pensioner in her Audi before crashing the car as he tried to escape.
The victim didn't know and hadn't met Howitt before when she knocked on the door in the dark. The two masked men then burst in.
The victim was grabbed around the throat and punched to the face and head repeatedly, as Hayes produced the blade.
She recognised Hayes, who screamed "you f***ng horrible b******" and "where's the f***ing money?" The victim said she was grabbed by the hair and "ragged" into the living room, where the attack continued, in front of the girl.
Hayes made the girl show him where the victim kept her jewellery and car keys before stealing sentimental items including the victim's mum's wedding ring. He grabbed his aunt, dragged her outside to her black Audi TT and tried to force her into the boot.
She desperately fought him and was punched again, her head hit against the car and on the ground - showering the boot in blood - before Hayes threw her into the car through the passenger door, got in the driver's seat, and sped off.
His two accomplices then fled. The victim described the car hitting other vehicles and the kerb before Hayes crashed in Bank Lane, Melling, flipping the Audi over.
Passers-by rushed to help, as Hayes climbed over his aunt to escape, but she yelled: "Help me, help me. Keep him away from me, he's kidnapped me and beat me up. Don't let him hit me again, please don't let him hit me again."
She was covered in blood and witnesses chased after Hayes and held him down, until police, paramedics and firefighters arrived. A police dog found a black Under Armour glove he had thrown into a garden and another one in bushes.
Hayes was searched and as he was turned over, jewellery fell out of his jacket. More jewellery and the knife was found strewn inside the Audi.
On her way to hospital in an ambulance, the victim told an officer Hayes' name - recorded on police bodycam as a precaution due to the seriousness of her injuries.
Hayes had cut her left ear exposing cartilage and she suffered cuts and bruises to her face and scalp, seven broken ribs and a black eye.
She needed eight stitches to the face and two to her ear. Hayes was also treated at hospital, before he was interviewed and gave no comment.
The precise motive for the robbery was unknown, but the victim said she had recently inherited money following the death of an aunt, in order to care for the woman's severely disabled son.
Detective Inspector James Rotheram said: “I’m delighted that Groves is now facing a lengthy prison sentence and he will have plenty of time to reflect on his appalling actions that night.
“We were always determined to put all three people before the courts, no matter how long it took, so it’s a relief that Groves has now been removed from our streets.
“I can only imagine how terrifying this would have been for the people who lived in this home. To be assaulted in your own home, especially on Christmas Day, must have been incredibly traumatic.
“I hope that the family can now take comfort from the fact all three people involved in this incident are now behind bars.
“Our message to offenders involved in robberies is clear - there is no hiding place. We will use all evidence available to us to track you down and put you before the courts.”
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