Top 3 Most Tragic Home Invasions And How To Prevent Them In The Future
Local daily newspaper, Sun Sentinel, recently released a photo gallery of crimes that shocked South Florida. The photo gallery displays forty-one images of top local cases and a caption detailing the crimes. Three of these forty-one cases specifically allude to a home invasion 
taking place.
1. Sean Taylor, November 2007
2. Dunbar Village Housing Project, June 2007
3. Gianni Versace, July 1997
Could anything have been done to prevent these sinister crimes from occurring in the first place? Let’s start by going back in time to the tragic shooting that led to the death of a fashion icon.
Gianni Versace
The late Gianni Versace (1946-1997) was an Italian fashion designer and founder of Versace, an Italian fashion company. Openly gay with his partner, Antonio D’Amico, and a regular on the party scene, Gianni Versace’s death came as a shock to not only his pop icon celebrity friends such as Madonna, Elton John, Cher, Sting and Diana, Princess of Wales, but to the fashion community, and world, as whole.
Gianni Versace’s high profile life abruptly came to an end at the age of fifty. He was tragically shot dead on the steps of his mansion at 1116 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, FL (now a popular tourist attraction) on July 15th, 1997, after returning home from a morning stroll on Ocean Drive. His killer, Andrew Cunanan was a spree killer and was also responsible for the deaths of others, and ultimately, his own death. Perhaps the most tragic aspect of the murder is that no motive has since been determined.
The saddest detail, however, is the fact that Versace usually sent one of his assistants to pick up the morning paper from the coffee shop, but cheerfully took it upon himself to attend to the chore that morning. We’re unsure about the level of security in and around his home which was formerly known as Casa Casuarina but was renamed The Villa by Barton G.
Is it possible that security cameras on the exterior of his mansion may have prevented the crime? What if someone had noticed Andrew lurking on the cameras and had time to alert the authorities? What if Gianni Versace had the capability to monitor his home from his smartphone and saw Andrew lurking around his property while on his morning stroll? Did he die upon impact? What if he didn’t? What if an ambulance didn’t get to him on time? Could he have benefited from a device that immediately alerts an emergency response team at the push of a button? Could it have saved his life?
The Dunbar Village Housing Project
Named after poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, Dunbar Village is one of Florida’s first public housing communities, located in West Palm Beach, in the North Tamarind neighborhood. After the Housing Act of 1937, it was constructed in 1939-1840 primarily for the African-American community. The string of 246 units is currently undergoing partial demolition.
Dunbar Village, however, is home to perhaps one of the most heinous crimes in the state. On the night of June 18th, 2007, a brutal assault and rape occurred on the premises. According to media, three men armed with guns had initially forced themselves inside the victim’s apartment. These three men eventually grew to up to ten men. The thirty-five-year old female victim was gang raped for three hours and forced to have sex with her twelve-year-old son. Her son was heavily beaten and soaked with household chemicals.
Multiple articles state that security at Dunbar Village was virtually nonexistent at the time of the attack. Since the attack, however, money was given to purchase extra security. This is a cautionary tale to be proactive instead of reactive when it comes to security for your premises. Don’t wait until it’s too late to install advanced security systems. Prevention is the key here. What if the victim had a wireless door sensor?
Sean Taylor
The crime committed against college and professional football player, Sean Taylor (1983-2007), is just one of the unfortunate, but very real examples of the need for greater safety and security for American families. Sean Taylor was free safety for the Washington Redskins. He also played for the University of Miami during his college years, and had a bright future ahead of him. Unfortunately, his life was cut too short after gunmen broke into his home and shot him in the upper leg while he was recovering from a football injury.
According to police reports, in his absence, Taylor’s house had also been burglarized just eight days before his death. The intruders pried open a window to climb into his home, went through his desk and safe located in his bedroom and damaged an air conditioning unit. Four arrests and charges were made in connection with the burglary and murder. Three of the suspects in Taylor’s murder were also involved in the burglary that occurred eight days before his shooting.
What if law enforcement officials were able to straight away identify the three men who burglarized Taylor’s home before shooting him eight days later? Security cameras from ADT are the number one deterrent for would be criminals. Again, it’s a matter of being proactive versus reactive. Better yet, a surveillance system would have allowed police to catch the intruders and bring them to justice before they were able to end Taylor’s life.
Unfortunately, smartphones were yet to be invented at the time of Taylor’s death. Today, however, American families can now monitor their home in real time on their smartphone or other mobile device. The ADT Pulse Network allows for greater control while you’re absent as it allows you to activate and deactivate your system via a cell phone application, turn on your lights before you arrive, monitor cameras and alert the authorities if there’s a potential threat on your doorstep. Taylor’s family could have benefited tremendously from this kind of advanced technology.
Contact Us
We at Home Security Concepts are an ADT authorized dealer. We’re more than happy to help you prevent a tragic home invasion. Simply pick up your phone and contact one of our professional customer service representatives. We can be reached at (954) 713-9411 for Broward County and (305) 424-9219 for Miami-Dade County.
