British-St. Lucian woman wants answers to her house break-in

Camilla Walter

A London woman has revealed how she came home from a holiday in St. Lucia to find her house in a complete mess after being broken into.

Camilla Walter, who lives in Tooting, Southwest London, said she was in total shock and disbelief when she opened her front door to find her property in shambles.

“The house was in a state and I cried when I saw it that way,” said Walter, who was visiting her family in the village of Choiseul for a couple of months early this year. “The suitcase containing all my important documents was prised opened after it had been rummaged through.

“Quite a lot of my appliances were damaged. My house was in a deplorable state. I have not been able to sleep. A lot of my utensils were stolen.

“My fridge was damaged as well as my cooker, dishwasher, kettle, toaster and my two electric fans. Other items damaged are my Hoover, amplifier, Big Chef (cooking utensil). A lot of wires were removed from quite a lot of my electric items. They took the plugs away.

“My kitchen cupboard was damaged. The wires under the cupboard were cut open and this affected the electricity in my house. I had to call the gas and electric emergency services since my house was in darkness. They came to assist me. This could have caused electric shocks if I wasn’t careful.”

Walter, 63, who is originally from St. Lucia and has been living in London for the past 30 years, said she has written to the Prime Minister, Theresa May, since she is not getting much help from the Metropolitan police after reporting the break-in to them.

“A police officer was sent to see me immediately after the burglary. I was explaining things to him and he was not taking any notice of what I was saying to him. I took him round the house and pointed out the damages to him. He did not take down any notes and show very little interest in what I was showing him,” said Walter, a mother of five grown-up children.

Walter, who lives alone after her husband passed away a few years ago, said all the entry points to the house were in order and believe that the break-in was an inside job.

“The windows and doors were intact and was not damaged.The police told me that this was most likely an inside job. Someone with keys is responsible for carrying this out as the house was not broken in from the outside. I have not stopped crying. ‘How can you trust anyone these days?’ I am still overwhelmed by what transpired in my house while I was away.

“I heard from the Prime Minister and she told me that she has passed on my letter to the Home Office which will be dealing with it. I have also written to my local MP and I am waiting to hear from her in due course.

“I want those responsible caught and be brought to justice. I need some closure and I will not stop until I get it,” said the former Choiseul resident whose late uncle Euzebe A. Lawrence was a former police commissioner in St. Lucia. “I hope the police will resume a full investigation into this. I need them to before it’s too late. They need to get to the bottom of this.”