A burglar broke into a Liverpool student’s flat and stole several personal items including her underwear and a bag of adult toys. Pavel Kotlar smashed the front window of the woman’s Wavertree apartment and entered on January 1, 2024. The next day the victim, 23, discovered what had happened when a letting agent attended and noticed the break-in, as she had been visiting her family when it took place. A CCTV camera, which she checked, had captured the moment Kotlar crept into her living room as an alarm sounded.
The woman said: “Police attended, they boarded up the flat, and when I went in the place was ransacked. There were items you’d expect to be stolen, like the TV – but there was a bag of my underwear. All my knickers and bras were gone, and a bag of adult toys were also stolen.”
In addition to this, Kotlar, of Whitman Street, Wavertree, stole her high heeled shoes, passport and a precious friendship necklace which formed half of a pair belonging to her sister, who died in 2021. He appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday, August 19, where he pleaded guilty to burglary and was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
The woman expressed her profound emotional distress, stating: “The hardest thing was a necklace that was stolen. My sister passed away in 2021; she was cremated with one half of a friendship necklace while I had the other half. I would keep this at home as I was afraid of losing it outside. I would hold this to my heart to feel closer to her. It was probably worth about a fiver, and it was stolen. The spite and level of cruelty makes no sense to me.”
She continued, revealing the impact of the burglary on her mental well-being: “It has put me back into a state of grieving as I don’t have a lot of my sister; this necklace was the one thing I had. I feel like I’ve lost my sister all over again and I’ve got to find another way to deal with her loss.”
Reflecting on her sense of security being shattered, she said: “Not only has my stuff been stolen, but also my safety, security and trust. I feel so violated. I have been through rough stuff, I’m resilient and strong, but I don’t feel strong at the moment. I just want to feel safe and secure again and be the confident person I was before this.”
After the court case, she shared her mixed emotions about the sentencing, mentioning: “I wasn’t expecting him to get 30 months but I still don’t feel like it’s justifiable. It’s affected my university life, it’s affected my trying to work, but I do take some reassurance that it will feel a lot longer for him than it feels for me. I know he’ll be sat there now feeling like it’s forever, so I take a bit of happiness from that.”