St Neots couple left terrified after break-in

Two men smashed their way into a house in St Neots armed with a gun and metal pole.

34-year-old Marco Sellitto and Corey Deards, 25, targetted the property on Great North Road at 2am on 31 May 2020.

The man inside, who knew the pair, had a gun placed in his mouth, was beaten with the metal pole and money was demanded from him.

He was repeatedly hit in the face with the pole and the gun, the force of which knocked several of his teeth out. He suffered three broken ribs and left side pneumothorax – a build-up of air outside the lung putting it at risk of collapse.

His partner, who was upstairs at the time, heard the commotion and ran downstairs but was also assaulted.

She had a sentimental gold necklace grabbed from her neck and £200 in cash was stolen from the main bedroom.

The men left the house and called two taxis to Bedford. Police were called, with some stolen items found at the back of the house including the man’s passport and some cash.

The metal pole with the victim’s blood on was found in a nearby alleyway and a car with false plates, parked near the house, had a bag inside with Sellitto’s fingerprints on.

The pair stood trial at Cambridge Crown Court on Tuesday 20 August and were found guilty of aggravated burglary.

Sellitto, of Faldo Road, Bedford, was sentenced to 10 years behind bars. Deards, of Cedar Road, Bedford, was handed six years and six months in prison.

DC Louise Clarke:

"This was a frightening experience for the victims who were terrified as the criminals smashed their way into their home. The man was seriously assaulted, and the attack left him in a coma in hospital.

Deards and Sellitto also stole irreplaceable sentimental jewellery and caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to the house.

I am glad justice has been done and hope the verdicts and sentence will bring some comfort and closure for the victims.

Burglary is a priority area for us and we will work hard to bring those who think they can target other people’s homes to justice”.