A photograph of the 73-year-old’s injuries, released to show the severity of the unprovoked attack, shocked the country.
Ninette Simons is still bruised but is bravely sharing her story and pleading for help in finding her attackers, with the three men behind the incident still at large.
“I’m very frightened, I’m not the same person I used to be, I can hardly stand or walk,” she said.
The cancer patient was savagely beaten by three men who told her husband, Philip Simons, they were police officers.
“He said, ‘We’ve got a warrant to search your house for stolen gold’,” Mr Simons said.
The 76-year-old opened the door to the men just before 7pm on April 16.
What followed was 30 minutes of torture.
“The minute they came inside, one bloke grabbed me,” Mr Simons said.
“They said, ‘Get on your knees’, threw me on the floor, jumped on my back, grabbed the chord from the amplifier and tied me up on the floor.”
The attention then turning to Mrs Simons.
“The next minute I was getting punched by the second bloke who had a some mask on his face, saying, ‘Don’t scream’, and just belting me, which went on for a good half an hour,” she said.
“I said, ‘What are you doing? Please, you’re hurting me. You’re going to kill me, I’m 73 years-old, I’m a cancer patient’.”
Jewellery was torn from her body before the men made their way into the couple’s safe.
“I was pouring with blood, from my mouth, from my nose and I blacked out – unconscious for a minute or two. I thought I was dying, I don’t know how I survived this,” Mrs Simons said.
The grandparents are too shaken to return to their home of 45 years.
“He said, ‘If you go to the police, we’re from the area, we’ll be back to finish you’.”
Investigators are still on the hunt for the three men and believe it was a targeted attack.
The trio made off with almost $200,000 worth of jewellery, which was the couple’s life savings.
“I just want to plead with the public to help the police catch them, so that we can all feel safe again, please help,” Mrs Simons said.
Detectives are urging anyone with any information relating to this incident, or who saw, or has CCTV or dash-cam vision, of any suspicious persons or vehicles in the area of Allison Drive between 6.30pm and 7.45pm, to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via www.crimestopperswa.com.au.
