Burglars woke millionaire couple’s tot in home raid

Danielle and Jean Luc Laydevant were both in the house with their three small children when the raiders struck.

The couple’s 3-year-old son witnessed the shocking robbery, the latest in a spate of thefts from affluent south Dublin homes.

“I’m just relieved nobody was hurt,” Danielle told the Herald. “I have three little kids under four years old.”

Their €140k BMW 7 Series and other luxury items were taken in the planned robbery – while the family of five were asleep upstairs.

As well as the BMW 7 Series, the gang stole a Rolex watch, jewellery, cash and vintage champagne, totalling almost €200k.

The thugs had stolen the keys from Danielle’s handbag which was left in the kitchen.

The family, who divide their time between Dublin and St Tropez, had just returned from their home in the Cote D'Azur when burglars seized the opportunity to break into the home.

Speaking to the Herald, Danielle said: “It was my third night in the house, my husband's first night back. He drove the car back for me from France.

“According to Gardai, they had been scoping the house and the car was ‘stolen to order'.

“It's a new thing now, where they are stealing cars to order and shipping them out to the Middle East. They stole a BMW M5 around the corner the night before apparently.”

The beautiful mum-of-three spoke of her heartbreak when she discovered that the burglars had stolen her husband's wedding band, which had been melted down from her grandmother's wedding ring.

In addition to the priceless ring, they also took a Rolex watch worth thousands, bottles of champagne from their wine cellar, phones, ipods and cash from her wallet.

Worst

“That was the worst, it my granny's wedding band, I had it melted and joined in another. So it wasn't expensive, but it had so much sentimental value.

“The Rolex was my wedding present from me for my husband.” She revealed that their young son had seen the culprits as they raided their home.

“They woke my three-year-old and he saw them. He was fine, he came into our room and we didn't know what was going on.

“We thought he was scared, being home for the first night. So we let him get into bed with us and he said there was a ‘scary man'. I just told him, ‘That's not a scary man, that's your poppa'. It wasn't until the morning when I realised they had disturbed him.

“I was just relieved at that stage that nobody was hurt. It's all stuff that can be replaced,” she added.

“It was Hallowe’en so we brushed it off, saying that there was people dressed up in costumes.

He's three, he's forgotten already,” she said.

Kids

“I have three little kids under four years old, one who is less than three months. Thankfully they were all asleep. Thinking about that, it puts it all into perspective.

“If they had come upstairs or woken them up, I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself.

It's just one of these things, it could have been worse.

“They could have come upstairs. Thankfully they got the keys from my handbag downstairs so it was easy for them.”

The family have yet to determine how the burglars sped off in the specialty car, and got past their security system. We have an electric gate so how in god's name did they get in? They must have come up here before or knew somebody that had.

“Those cars are extremely difficult to drive. Nobody knows how to drive them unless they know from experience.

“They definitely knew what they were doing. They came here for the car and the rest of stuff was just a bonus,” she said.

The successful businesswoman went on to credit Gardai for their speed in dealing with the situation.

The family has since considerably upped its security. Gardai are continuing investigations.