The brave daughter of a wealthy company director refused to open a safe for an armed robber and his TOWIE-linked henchman during a terrifying gunpoint raid on her family’s £2.5m Sandbanks home. pounds sterling.
Ashley Fulton, 42, invaded the home of Emily Aitchison and her mother Kerry at gunpoint in February 2023. She was joined in the raid by a friend who once dated reality TV star Hannah Voyen.
The pair posed as police officers before breaking into the luxury property and tying up Kerry, a 55-year-old physiotherapist and personal trainer, who was home alone at the time, by her hands and feet.
When her daughter Emily arrived, the thieves dragged her by her hair throughout the house, He threatened to burn her with an iron and chillingly told her that her mother would be shot in front of her unless she gave them the access code to the family safe.
Bravely, Emily refused to comply with their demands and mistakenly entered the code twice before telling them that doing it a third time would set off the alarm at their Poole Harbor home. The intruders panicked and fled, a court heard.
Ashley Fulton, 42, and her accomplice broke into the Sandbanks home of Kerry Aitchison and her daughter Emily (pictured) at gunpoint in February 2023.
After tying up Kerry, a 55-year-old physiotherapist and personal trainer, Fulton (pictured) and his accomplice dragged Emily, 22, by her hair throughout the house.
Fulton was joined in the raid by a friend who, in a strange twist, once dated reality star Hannah Voyen.
Sitting at Bournemouth Crown Court, the judge said Fulton posed a “significant risk to the public” and handed him a life sentence but could be paroled in nine years.
His sentencing had been delayed due to his mental health and he was “heavily medicated”, so the judge agreed it would be a mistake to sentence him in October.
The thieves locked the women in the bathroom and fled, but not before ransacking the £2.5 million home and stealing more than £200,000 worth of luxury watches, designer bags, jewellery, cash and their mobile phones.
But the career criminals made a series of mistakes and left a trail of evidence and clues that led police to their doorstep.
They left their DNA all over the property and their getaway car was caught on CCTV and found to be registered to a Fulton address. When police found the vehicle, they recovered vaporizers inside with his DNA.
Mobile phone records later showed that Fulton, 42, had Googled the exact rare model of Patek Philippe watch that had been stolen two hours after the robbery.
Police also found online orders made by Fulton for wallets and police ID lanyards that the couple used to enter Aitchison’s home.
Sitting at Bournemouth Crown Court, Judge William Mousley said Fulton would have to serve a minimum of nine years and 192 days before he could be considered for parole.
If released, he would remain on license for the rest of his life.
Mrs Aitchison’s husband Mark is the chief executive of Colten Care, which owns 21 care homes in the south of England.
Fulton and his accomplice went to his home at 1:00 pm on February 21, 2023, posing as police officers.
Mrs Aitchison, a physiotherapist and personal trainer, had previously told the court about the ongoing psychological damage the terrifying raid had caused her and her daughter.
She said: ‘Home should feel like a safe place, a sanctuary, a refuge. For me it is a crime scene where I thought they would kill my daughter and me. I am a mere shadow of my former self because of this violent intrusion.
“Gone is the outgoing, vibrant, positive woman, and in her place is someone I don’t recognize.”
Emily, a real estate agent whose father is a wealthy company director, couldn’t leave the house for the first six weeks and cried every day for a month. He suffered a panic attack and struggled to return to work.
The Aitchison family pictured outside Bournemouth Crown Court after Kerry and Emily gave evidence.
An aerial view of the sandbanks at Poole, Dorset
The court heard Fulton had been diagnosed with a personality disorder and prescribed medication, but was suitable for the normal sentencing procedure.
In sentencing Fulton, Judge Mousley said: “You are a dangerous offender, posing a significant risk of serious harm to the public based on the facts of this case, your previous convictions and your diagnosis of a personality disorder.”
‘The degree of severity is very high. All of these factors deserve a sentence of life imprisonment. Unlike your co-defendant, you are not subject to a lifetime license or revocation.
“I have read or heard nothing about his personal situation that would provide reasonable cause to consider any alternative to life in prison.”
His sentencing was delayed after his lawyer Hugh Mullan told the court his client’s mental health had “deteriorated significantly and substantially” in recent weeks.
Mullan added that his client was “heavily medicated” but lucid and able to listen to the proceedings, and Judge William Mousley KC agreed it would be a mistake to sentence the repeat offender at this time.
Sandbanks is a magnet for the rich and famous, which also makes it a target for thieves.
Norman Brennan, a retired police officer and crime victims’ activist, later said: “People might think it’s a little convenient that this violent criminal is now using a mental health card just as he faces a long prison sentence.” prison”.
“He did not appear to be suffering from mental health problems when he robbed two women at gunpoint in their own home and subjected them to an ordeal before stealing property worth £200,000 which has not been recovered.”
Speaking to the family at sentencing, the judge said: ‘I want to share my strong feelings of support for the Aitchison family. These procedures have taken a long time and I’m sorry. I hope you can start to move forward and, as much as possible, leave some of this behind you.’
Fulton admitted two counts of robbery, possession of an imitation firearm, three fraud offences, three counts of possession of identity documents with improper intent, one count of possession of an article for use in fraud and possession of cocaine.
His accomplice, who has not been identified for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to two robberies, possession of an imitation firearm and one count of false passport fraud and was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Fulton’s girlfriend, Lacey Langton, 23, admitted perverting the course of justice and possessing an ID card with improper intent. She was jailed for 14 months.