Nick Kyrgios says his “entire family relives the trauma” of the robbery of his Tesla in 2023. Photo: Instagram.
The mother of Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has spoken of being “consumed by trauma and fear” after the robbery of her son’s Tesla at gunpoint.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, stole the vehicle from Nick Kyrgios’ mother, Norlaila Kyrgios, on 1 May 2023 after threatening her at gunpoint.
At approximately 8:30 am, the robber knocked on the Kyrgios’s front door, and Mrs Kyrgios answered.
The man forced the door open and demanded that she give him the keys to her son’s Tesla, which was worth $125,000. The robber then escorted her outside at gunpoint, but Mrs Kyrgios was able to run back inside the house as they approached the car and called for help from those inside, including her son.
Mr Kyrgios called 000 and used his Tesla app to track the car’s movements, giving information to ACT Policing on the location of the car. He also applied a speed limiter that stopped the car going over 80 km/hr.
After two police chases, the offender was arrested shortly after 9 am.
In March 2024, he pleaded guilty to a single charge of aggravated robbery.
At a sentencing hearing on Monday (17 June) in the ACT Supreme Court, Mrs Kyrgios’s daughter, Halimah Kyrgios, teared up while reading a victim impact statement written by her mother.
“On that day, I was confronted by a masked figure with cold eyes, a rifle gripped tightly in his hand,” Mrs Kyrgios wrote of her experience.
Mrs Kyrgios said she experienced flashbacks, anxiety and feeling unsafe when visitors arrived at the home. She has also upgraded the home’s security system but continued to feel unsafe.
“What was stolen from me [Norlaila] that day was far more than a vehicle,” Mrs Kyrgios wrote.
“It was my sense of safety, my peace, my ability to feel safe in my own home, but more devastatingly, my belief in my ability to protect my own family.”
A victim impact statement written by Mr Kyrgios was also read by Pierre Johannessen from Johannessen Legal.
“Nothing prepares you for being woken up to your mother’s screams,” Mr Kyrgios wrote.
He also recounted problems sleeping in the aftermath of the theft and spoke of worry for his parent’s physical and mental well-being.
“She [my mother] is terrified to answer the door.
“My entire family relives the trauma of the day. Even when we are home together, we assume the worst if there is a sound.”
Mr Kyrgios also provided a statement to the media about the impact of the robbery.
“I hope today brings my mother a small measure of peace and that the Court recognises the anxiety and trauma my family has been through, feeling we can’t be safe in our family home, the place I grew up and where all those great memories now have to exist next to the memory of a gun pointed at my mother’s face.”
Lawyers for the offender are asking for him to be sentenced to a drug and alcohol treatment order for the robbery.
During the hearing, the robber read a prepared statement to the court, where he spoke of drug misuse since his teenage years and previous offences.
“I have battled with addiction and criminal conduct for most of my life,” he said.
He said he had a detailed relapse prevention plan and was “determined to make more of myself and my life”.
During his time in the Alexander Maconochie Centre (the AMC), he participated in the Solaris program, a voluntary treatment program for adult males at the AMC who have alcohol or drug dependency. He also spoke of his desire to be present with his family.
When the man was 14, he was driving a stolen car on 30 July 2005, when he struck Clea Kathleen Rose on Mort Street in Civic during a police chase. She died from her injuries about 20 days later, with the man serving time in prison over her death.
The man, who remains in custody, is expected to be sentenced on 2 July.
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