anyplainjoe
04-30-2008, 15:57
Burglars ransack house while 13-year-old girl hides in her bed
Wednesday, April 30, 2008 11:46 AM
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
The 13-year-old girl hid in a fetal position under her bed covers yesterday morning while two intruders ransacked the house, and tapped out a text message to her mother at work.
“OMG. They’re in the house. I think we’re being robbed.”
At her desk at Ricart Automotive in Groveport, Margo Roby read the text from her daughter, Lauren Durnbaugh. The Bloom-Carroll Junior High School student was home alone, sick.
Just before texting, Lauren had phoned her mom and said a red car had pulled up outside their Mason Road home in Canal Winchester, and now two people were knocking on the door.
It was unlocked. They walked in, saying, “Hello, hello, is anyone home?” Lauren ran into her bedroom, and balled herself up under the bed covers at the head of the bed aligned with the pillows.
Her mother read the text, grabbed her cell phone and purse, raced out to her GMC Envoy and swung onto Rt. 33, going 80 or 85 at times, she estimated, and calling 911 as she drove.
As Margo drove, Lauren called back. She whispered, “They’re in the house. Mommy, I’m scared.” Margo told her she was on her way, and not to call. They might hear her.
The intruders roamed from room to room. They even sat on Lauren’s bed at one point. The girl was afraid to breathe.
Margo pulled into the driveway. Around the side of the house was a red Tiburon, engine running, doors and trunk open. She thought fast, and rammed the Envoy into the red car, to disable it.
Then a young woman came out of the house, and tried to get into the red car. Margo wrestled with her. The young woman pushed her, Margo pushed back and the woman hit her in the face.
Just then, the Lithopolis police chief and Fairfield County deputies pulled up.
Purses, jewelry, the VCR, Lauren’s laptop and a digital camera were already out of the house, and the thieves had other things stacked inside the house ready to be carted out, Margo said.
“I ran in to get my daughter. She was just shaking like a leaf.”
While she comforted her daughter, authorities took two suspects into custody.
Jenna Marie Burns, 20, of Orient, and Jeremiah Lee Fyffe, 26, of Lockbourne, have both been charged with burglary, and Burns with an additional charge of robbery, said Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen.
Each is being held in Fairfield County jail on $100,000 cash bond. If convicted, Burns could be sentenced to 16 years in prison and Fyffe to eight, Phalen said.
Margo blamed herself for failing to lock the door when she left for work. But she is proud of how well her daughter handled herself.
“After we cried, she said, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I did that.’ Then she was smiling."
Even so, the ordeal lingers. Lauren did not sleep in her own bed last night but slept with her mom.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008 11:46 AM
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
The 13-year-old girl hid in a fetal position under her bed covers yesterday morning while two intruders ransacked the house, and tapped out a text message to her mother at work.
“OMG. They’re in the house. I think we’re being robbed.”
At her desk at Ricart Automotive in Groveport, Margo Roby read the text from her daughter, Lauren Durnbaugh. The Bloom-Carroll Junior High School student was home alone, sick.
Just before texting, Lauren had phoned her mom and said a red car had pulled up outside their Mason Road home in Canal Winchester, and now two people were knocking on the door.
It was unlocked. They walked in, saying, “Hello, hello, is anyone home?” Lauren ran into her bedroom, and balled herself up under the bed covers at the head of the bed aligned with the pillows.
Her mother read the text, grabbed her cell phone and purse, raced out to her GMC Envoy and swung onto Rt. 33, going 80 or 85 at times, she estimated, and calling 911 as she drove.
As Margo drove, Lauren called back. She whispered, “They’re in the house. Mommy, I’m scared.” Margo told her she was on her way, and not to call. They might hear her.
The intruders roamed from room to room. They even sat on Lauren’s bed at one point. The girl was afraid to breathe.
Margo pulled into the driveway. Around the side of the house was a red Tiburon, engine running, doors and trunk open. She thought fast, and rammed the Envoy into the red car, to disable it.
Then a young woman came out of the house, and tried to get into the red car. Margo wrestled with her. The young woman pushed her, Margo pushed back and the woman hit her in the face.
Just then, the Lithopolis police chief and Fairfield County deputies pulled up.
Purses, jewelry, the VCR, Lauren’s laptop and a digital camera were already out of the house, and the thieves had other things stacked inside the house ready to be carted out, Margo said.
“I ran in to get my daughter. She was just shaking like a leaf.”
While she comforted her daughter, authorities took two suspects into custody.
Jenna Marie Burns, 20, of Orient, and Jeremiah Lee Fyffe, 26, of Lockbourne, have both been charged with burglary, and Burns with an additional charge of robbery, said Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen.
Each is being held in Fairfield County jail on $100,000 cash bond. If convicted, Burns could be sentenced to 16 years in prison and Fyffe to eight, Phalen said.
Margo blamed herself for failing to lock the door when she left for work. But she is proud of how well her daughter handled herself.
“After we cried, she said, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I did that.’ Then she was smiling."
Even so, the ordeal lingers. Lauren did not sleep in her own bed last night but slept with her mom.
