At the end of 2021, cycling star Mark Cavendish and his family are victims of a brutal robbery. Three of the suspects now have to answer in court, and shocking details of the crime are coming to light. “It was no ordinary robbery,” says the prosecutor.
Pro cyclist Mark Cavendish and his family will probably never forget November 27, 2021. That Saturday, a group of strangers broke into the Cavendish home, threatened the couple and their children and ended up stealing items worth around £700,000.
The group of burglars would probably have escaped scot-free if they hadn’t made a fatal mistake. Among the items stolen was Cavendish’s wife Peta’s phone. However, one of the suspects left it at the crime scene. The police seized the device, found fingerprints and thus tracked down the criminals.
In total, there were “four or five” burglars, Mark Cavendish and his wife later stated. Three of them have been caught so far. Proceedings have now been opened against her at Chelmsford Crown Court.
At the first hearing, prosecutor Edward Renvoize described what happened in the South Essex home during the dramatic hours. According to reports, the couple was lying in bed when Peta Cavendish heard noises downstairs. At first she thought her eldest son had woken up and fallen over something, but as she was walking down the stairs, a man in a balaclava suddenly rushed towards her.
“She then ran up the stairs and yelled for her husband to go back into the bedroom. Mr Cavendish was trying to find the panic button but by the time he had it two of the attackers were already on him and pointing at him beat him up and asked him to turn off the alarm again,” prosecutor Edward Renvoize described the first moments of the robbery.
One of the burglars then held a knife to the cycling star’s neck and threatened to stab him in front of his family. The attackers demanded that Cavendish give out his luxury watch and also open the safe. After that, the athlete was “victim of further violence,” said Renvoize.
In the end, the burglars fled with two luxury Richard Mille watches, an empty safe, three phones and a Louis Vitton bag. “This was no ordinary heist by petty thieves. This was a well-planned and well-executed invasion of a celebrity’s home with the intention of stealing valuable items,” the prosecutor stated.