A couple were terrorised in their own home as masked men armed with baseball bats stormed in and attacked them.
The husband and wife were hit with a baseball bat after a gang of three broke into their home – a ‘semi-rural’ property in Ramsbottom, Bury. They had been watching a Manchester City game on TV when the ‘nightmare’ unfolded, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
“It’s the sort of thing you would see in a movie, but for us it was real life,” the woman later said. The gang fled with two Rolex watches, a wedding ring and cash.
READ MORE: Pervert who arranged to meet girl for sex caught by paedophile hunters AGAIN
One of them, 35-year-old Anthony Corkovic, was caught after his blood was found. He had bled after becoming embroiled in a struggle with the man, who stepped in to protect his wife.
Corkovic, from Salford, has been handed an extended sentence for public protection. Prosecuting, Graham Rishton said the victims were both watching City’s League Cup tie against Newcastle United on September 27, 2023. The husband was watching in the lounge, while his wife had gone upstairs to bed as she was feeling unwell.
He said: “As the match approached half time, at about 8.45pm, a nightmare unfolded.” Three men wearing balaclavas had broken into the house, some armed with baseball bats.
One of them told the victim: “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will. I want your f****** safe. Where is it? You try and get up, I’ll smash you on the kneecaps.”
One member of the gang told him they’d ‘done their homework’ and knew ‘he and his wife have money’. The man told the gang he had a Rolex watch and he was ordered to hand it over.
At one stage, one of the intruders went upstairs. The man’s wife had fallen asleep after initially watching the match in the bedroom. She was awoken to find masked men in her room. “This is no joke,” one of them told her, adding: “Get out of bed.”
She was allowed to get dressed before her husband went upstairs. As she stood on the landing, the woman was attacked by one of the gang with a baseball bat.
She was hit repeatedly in the knee and head, suffering significant bruising. After hearing his wife’s ‘screams’, the husband bravely tried to intervene.
He hit one of the gang in the face before he was also hit with a bat. He lost his balance and as he began to fall down the stairs he tried to drag one of the thugs with him.
When he fell he banged his head and lost consciousness. When he came round, the burglars had gone. The gang left with two Rolex watches – one worth £32,000 and another worth £15,000.
They also stole a wedding ring worth £20,000 and a wedding band worth £5,000. A key for a Range Rover and more than £500 in cash was taken. The items have not been recovered.
The police were called and blood was discovered at the scene by forensics. Corkovic’s DNA was found and he was arrested. The two other members of the gang have not been caught.
Both victims suffered bruising and have been left traumatised by their experiences. The woman said no one should have to endure what they went through.
“It’s the sort of thing you would see in a movie, but for us it was real life,” she said. She told how she now suffers from PTSD and no longer feels safe in her own home.
She feels scared to leave the house, but does not like being left alone for too long. Mr Rishton said of her husband: “He says words cannot properly describe how the incident has impacted on his family.”
Corkovic pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary. He claimed to have had ‘no direct contact’ with either of the victims and said he was not been in possession of a weapon. Corkovic said he had been a ‘late recruit’ to the team.
Defending, Ian McMeekin said of Corkovic: “The fact is, the only credit in this case that attaches to the defendant is his guilty plea.” He said that Corkovic had penned a letter addressed to the victims in which he expressed his ‘extreme remorse, regret, shame and horror’.
Mr McMeekin said the letter would be sent to prosecutors, with the victims left to decide whether they want to read it. Corkovic has 17 previous offences on his record. In 2017, he was jailed for a total of seven years and three months after admitting his part in a plot to smuggle illegal immigrants into the country.
Judge Bernadette Baxter declared Corkovic a ‘dangerous’ offender and sentenced him to eight years in prison, and handed him an extra four years on licence. Addressing him, as she spoke of the female victim, the judge said: “The psychological impact on that woman of what you did has been profound, and will continue for many years to come, and perhaps forever.”
The judge added: “This must have been a truly terrifying experience.” Corkovic, of Murray Street, Salford, was told he will have to serve two-thirds of his eight year sentence before he can be considered for release.