Ella’s terrifying 4am baby oil home invader was just the beginning. It actually got worse when she called the cops…and they just laughed
A 20-year-old woman in Adelaide's northern suburbs, Ella Kearns, has described a terrifying early-morning ordeal in which a shirtless stranger repeatedly tried to break into her home, only for attending police officers to laugh with the man rather than take the incident seriously. The case has drawn attention because Ms Kearns rang triple zero three times as the intruder returned again and again, yet officers sent him away without taking a statement, leaving her feeling dismissed and unsafe in her own home.
Ms Kearns was asleep alone at about 4am in her Smithfield unit when a man calling for a woman named "Bridget" tried to force entry through her window and front door. Police attended twice but merely spoke with the man before letting him go, and on his third return Ms Kearns recorded him claiming to be a former footballer offering massages who had arranged to meet a woman via a hook-up app. She hid in her bathroom on the advice of the emergency call operator while her cat's movements helped her track the intruder's position outside, and no formal statement was ever taken from her despite the repeated break-in attempts.
In short
- Adelaide woman, 20, had home invaded three times in one night
- Police laughed with intruder instead of arresting or questioning him
- No statement was taken despite repeated triple zero calls for help
Explained simply
In South Australia, triple zero is the emergency number for police, fire and ambulance. Police can attend reports of attempted break-ins, speak to people at the scene and decide what further steps to take. A person who reports an incident can also give an account that may be recorded as part of any follow-up.
Ella Kearns lives in Smithfield, a suburb north of Adelaide. She says a stranger repeatedly tried to get into her home while she was alone, and that she called triple zero several times. The account has raised questions about how police respond to repeated reports and how people reporting a possible threat are treated.
The man was reported to have said he was looking for someone named Bridget and had arranged to meet a woman through a dating app. The report does not say that he entered the home or that anyone was physically hurt.