Home Held (M/Fmf)

[KP Presents]

Most people are familiar with the cult film Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry, and the way the film opens – a reasonable perfectly executed heist in which a supermarket manager’s wife and daughter are held hostage in their home.

It was, of course, only a film – but what if Hollywood had based it on a true story, only changing one or two details…

You are watching Channel 18, Ohio’s favourite station – and tonight, we look into the story of a serious of robberies which took place in the Cincinnati area five years ago – A case now referred to as the Home Held robberies.

The pair who committed these crimes were never caught – but as their spree continued, their ambitions grew larger, until their most spectacular crime. But we start at the beginning – the King family were small town people, the father running a local store, his wife and two children at home. The first he knew of what was happening was when he looked up to see a man closing the main door of the store and locking it, then pulling the blinds down.

“I remember it clearly- I asked him what he thought he was doing. He was six foot something tall, wearing a denim shirt and darker jeans, dark glasses, leather gloves – and a cocky smile. I was going to reach down for my gun – and then the telephone rang.

“I answered the call – and it was Maisie. She told me there was a man in the house with her, Rosie and Kit – and that if I did not do as the man with me said, they were going to be hurt.

“I looked at him, and he just smiled and nodded, before he told me to hang up, and open the safe. Well, I could tell he meant business – so I let him empty the safe, and then he told me to wait for their call before he walked out…”

So what was happening at the King home? His daughter Rosie tells that side of the incident…

“Kit and I were sitting on our couch – I was wearing a white t-shirt and denim shorts, Kit had on long denim shorts but no top. We were doing our book assignments, not aware of what was going on while Mom was cleaning our rooms – and then we heard her scream.

“She then came into the room – she was wearing a peach coloured sleeveless top and white shorts – but there was a strange man with her. He had on a black jumper and pants, and a black hat on his head – and he told us not to move or he would hurt us.

“Mom was pleading with him not to hurt us, so we knew he was trouble – and then he told Mom to sit down, as he took from his pocket a roll of white tape. He went behind Kit and took his hands behind his back, and then sued the tape to keep his hands behind his back. He did the same thing to me, and then he knelt down and taped our ankles together as well.

“He then told Mom to make the call, and we had to watch as she spoke to Pops. She then put the handset down before the man pulled the telephone wire out of the wall, and told her to lie face down on the other seat.

“We watched as he fixed her wrists together behind her back, the morning light coming through the blinds we never opened, and then fixed her ankles together. She rolled over and watched as he came over to us, and put some of the tape over our mouths, telling us not to struggle and sit still, before he did the same to Mom.

“After that, all we could do was watch until he left – and then the police came…”


The description Mister and Mrs King gave was not enough for the police to put any names to the two perpetrators – but they had obviously been watching the family, and struck at the best time to do so – from their viewpoint.

So the police thought it was a solitary incident – serious, but with little to go on. Then, a month later, the wife of a local supermarket manager had an unexpected visitor – while her grandchildren were staying. Carol Bailey starts this story.

“I cannot forget that day – our three grandchildren were staying while their parents went on vacation. Carol was eight, and was named after me, Mary was six, and Billy four. They all had their father’s blonde hair – Carol’s hair was cut in a bob, while Mary’s fell over her shoulders. Billy? He was a boy – you can guess.

“Anyway, they were having their breakfast in the kitchen – the girls were wearing Goofy t-shirts, a blue one for Carol and a red one for Mary, and shorts – red for carol, blue for Mary. As for Billy, his t-shirt was white with a cartoon lion on, and he was wearing white shorts.

“As they ate, I was in the bedroom, tidying up. I was wearing a pink top and a short blue shirt, and was unaware of anything wrong – until a leather gloved hand clamped itself over my mouth and I screamed into it.

“Oh I struggled and tried to call out, but his grip was firm. I knew it was a man,. As he told me to stop struggling, or he would hurt the kids. That made me stop, and I nodded when he asked if I was going to keep quiet. He then turned me round, and I looked at him – taller than me, dressed in black with a woollen hat on his head, glasses.

“But I knew he meant business, as he told me what was going to happen. That was when the children came in, and he hand gagged me again. He told them they were not to scream or call for help, and they were to do exactly what he told them to do, or else…

“I looked at them and nodded as he told us all to go into the front room. The radio was still playing, as he told them all to sit on the couch and not move. He then told me that I was to answer the phone if it rang – if the caller asked for the man in the house, I was to give him the handset, otherwise I was to tell them I’d call back and then hang up.

“So he turned the radio off, and then he told me exactly what Iwas going to say when I called my husband. That’s when the phone rang – and a second man asked for the man in the house.

“I gave him the handset, and then walked quickly over, hugging my grandchildren as he talked, and then put the handset down. He then told the kids to stand up, and turn round with their hands behind their backs – before he made me sit and watch as he used white tape to make sure their wrists stayed behind their backs.

“I told them I loved them, and they had to be brave as he then taped their ankles together – and then he told me to make the call.”
Tom Bailey takes up the story.

“I was in my office when Carol called me. I was surprised she had called – but there was something in her voice that made me sit up and listen. She said there was a man in the house, and he was threatening to hurt her and our grandchildren if I did not do exactly what she said.

“She told me I was to open the office safe, and a man would call in a few minutes – and he was going to empty the safe and take the money. If I did not do it, then they were ethe ones who would get hurt.

“I asked to speak to the man – and he made it clear she was not lying as the call ended.”

As he opened the safe door, Carol was watching the man.

“He walked to the kids, and told them they had to sit nice and still and not struggle – because if they struggled, they would puke, and if that happened…

“He then pressed lengths of the white tape down over their mouths as I told them just to sit quietly – and then he told me to put my hands behind my back. I had to let him tape my wrists and ankles together, and then he pressed a length of tape down over my mouth as well.

“We just sat there, waiting…”

Meanwhile, at the supermarket…

“He came in – dressed in denim, a cruel smile on his face as he produced a paper bag, and saw I had opened the safe. OF course I was going to do as he asked…”

At the same time, a small crisis was occurring at the Bailey home.

“Billy started coughing, but with the tape over his mouth, the girls were starting to panic slightly as he knelt next to him. He said he had told Billy not to struggle, or he would puke – and if he puked, he would choke to death on it.

“Well, I just tried to speak and shook my head. The man looked at me as I pleaded – and then he asked Billy if he was going to call for help. He shook his head, and made a promise, before the man took the tape away from his mouth, and said he was holding him to that.

“So, crisis averted, and the girls and I relaxed until he left…”


Again, the police had only the descriptions, but the MO fitted – and it became a county manner. But there was still no clue as to what was going on, or who was doing this.

It was three months before the pair struck again – and this time, there was a change in the way they worked and a more generational approach. But the basic premise remained the same. Eric Crane, the older of the two brothers, tells the story.

“Steve and I were off school, both of us recovering from the flu. I’m fifteen, and he is thirteen – but given we were at home, we were both lying on our stomachs on the floor, watching some dumb soap opera. I was wearing a pair of blue pants, Steve an orange t-shirt and jeans.

“Anyway, Dad was at his car business, while Mom was in the kitchen. I remember she was wearing her long-sleeved white blouse and red checked pants – and then we both heard the muffled shout.

“Steve looked at me and asked if I knew what was happening – and then he came in with Mom. He was tall, with dark hair, and wearing a denim shirt, jeans, dark glasses – and leather gloves on his hands.

“One of which was over Mom’s mouth. He looked at us, and smiled as he told us not to move an inch – if we did, we would get hurt and Mom would as well. Well, I was going to rush him, but Mom shook her head, so we both sat up and nodded.

“He then told us to get up and sit on the seats, so we did that, as he told us to sit still and keep quiet. These were wooden armchairs, so we sat down, looking at each other as he let Mom go and turned her round.

“She was shaking, as he told her to answer the phone if it rang – if they asked for the Man, she was to give him the handset, otherwise make an excuse and hang up. She nodded, and pleaded with him not to hurt her or us – but he just laughed, the dark glasses over his eyes.

“He then looked at us, and produced a roll of silver tape – tape he used to make sure our arms stayed on the armrests, bands round our wrists and below our elbows.

“He then taped our ankles together, Steve looking at me as I told him to be brave – and he nodded as the man told us to be quiet. He then told Mom she was going to make a call – and exactly what she was going to say to our father.

“The blinds were drawn, but the television was still on – until he turned it off and told her to make the call, and told us to keep quiet or he would make sure we stayed quiet. We both nodded as Mom dialled a number – and that was when Grammy came in.

“She was wearing a white cardigan over a coat dress, and white heels – but she saw us, and was going to scream before he grabbed and hand gagged her, telling her to be quiet while Mom made a call. She looked at us, her eyes wide, her grey hair permed, and we both silently nodded as Mom did what he had told her to do.

“When she had finished, he told her to lie face down on the long couch, Steve and I watching as he took Grammy’s hands behind her back and made sure they were taped together with the silver tape. She was then made to sit on the floor, and we watched as he taped her ankles together, and her legs below her knees - and then he covered her mouth with strips of the tape.

“Steve and I looked at each other – and then he taped our legs together as well, and covered our mouth with the tape. That was when the phone went off, and he told Mom to get rid of whoever it was.

“She slowly got up and went over – and then handed the handset to him. He listened, and then gave Mom the handset as he went towards Grammy. She spoke into the handset, telling whoever to was please do what he says – and then he took the handset back and put it down.


“Mom was then made to lie faced down on the couch again, as he taped her wrists and legs, and then taped over her mouth as well. We had to wait until he left – and then tried to get free….


There were other reports – always two men, one in black, one in denim. One would break into the home of a businessman, and take his family hostage in the morning, before forcing the mother to call their husband – and then the other would commit the actual robbery.

With each case, the way the family were bound, gagged, moving from tape to ropes – and one occasion, it was the night, not the daytime. This was in December – and January James tells the story of what happened…

“Mom is the deputy head of our high school, and we had both been to the winter ball – me as an attendee, Mom as a chaperone. I was wearing a wonderful long red maxi dress with white trim on the cuffs and the skirt – and a corsage which my date had given me, my straw blonde hair styled for the evening.

“Mom was wearing a red pinafore dress over a long-sleeved white blouse, both of us wearing heels – but it was a wonderful evening. Dad works as the night manager of a supermarket. Anyway, Mom left half an hour before I did…”

January’s mother returned home, and takes up the story.

“I got home and turned the lights on, and then went to my room, stripping out of my dress and hanging it in the wardrobe before I went to have a shower. I heard the door open and close, and heard January call out – but I didn’t hear the door open and close again.

“The first I knew of what was happening was when the shower screen was opened, and I sat a stranger standing there – dressed in black, with a wool cap on his head. I opened my mouth to scream – and he just came in, putting his hand over my mouth as he told me to be quiet…”

January had indeed been safely returned by her date, and was in her bedroom when she heard the screams.

“I came into the bathroom, and saw this man holding Mom in the shower – and then he looked at me, and grabbed me. He told Mom to get out and put a bath robe on, which she did – and then he told her and me not to scream or raise the alarm.

“She told him not to hurt me, so he let me go and I went to her. He looked at us, and then very quietly told us to do exactly what he said – and then he told me to go to my bedroom and strip. Mom looked at him, and then said something like no, please, don’t…

“He looked at us, and said if he was attracted to rape, he would have let her finish her shower – but he wanted us both dressed so that he could tie us up, and his partner could take the money from Dad’s firm. I nodded and went to my room as he stood with Mom, and then came out in a blue nightdress.

“We then went into the front room, and I sat in an armchair as he told Mom to call Dad, explain what was going on, and what he wanted him to do. When she had made the call, he told her to stand by our reclining couch, as he opened a bag and then took lengths of rope out. He went behind me and told me to put my hands behind my back, Mom watching as he lashed my wrists together with the rope.

“He then tied my ankles together, as well as my legs above my knees – and then the telephone rang. Mom slowly walked over and answered it, and then handed him the handset as she came over and kneeled in front of me. She asked if I was all right, and I nodded and said I would be fine, and she should stay calm as well.

“Well, she nodded as he put the phone down, and then told Mom to stand up and put her hands behind her back. I watched as he tied her wrists together behind her back, and the made her lie on her side on the couch, as he tied her ankles together, and then her legs above her knees as well.

“We looked at each other as he rolled up a scarf, and then gagged me with it, tying it round my head – and then he did the same to Mom, before turning the lights off.

“I don’t know when we fell asleep – but we must have, because I woke up to see Pop looking at me, my head in his hands. There were other officers in the room, one of them untying Mom…”


Their takings seemed to get larger and larger with each raid – and then there was heir most notorious raid. It was a Sunday lunchtime, and the Carlton family returned home from Church while their father made his way to his legal office. Pippa Carlton, the sixteen-year-old daughter, takes up the story.

“Gran, Mom, Tom and I all got back to our home about one thirty. Mom was wearing a pale blue dress with a high collar and a knee length skirt, and black heels, while Gran had on a white short sleeved dress with a thin tan belt and black heels.

“As for me, I was wearing a purple pinafore dress over a long-sleeved cream top with purple stripes, and high black leather boots, while Tom had on a pink shirt and light blue bellbottom pants with his black shoes.

“We went to our rooms while Mom and Gran went to the kitchen – and then we heard Gran shout, so we both ran down again. There were two men with them in the kitchen – both tall, one dressed in black with a woollen cap on his head, the other wearing denim – but they both had gloved hands over Mom and Gran’s mouth as they held them, and they made it very clear we had to stay quiet. Well, Tom and I looked at each other, and we both raised our hands in the air before we were all marched into the front room.

“Once there, Mom and Gran were ordered to close the drapes, and then sit down with their hands on their heads as we were told to put our hands behind our backs. One of the men then put a bag down and took some ropes out of it, as he started to bind Tom’s wrists together. That was the man in black – the other man talked to Mom, told her if the phone rang to say she was busy and hang up.

“I then felt the rope round my own wrists as they were bound tightly together, before we were ordered to sit in the two armchairs. The man then took more ropes and tied it round my ankles, the leather squeaking as the rope rubbed on it, and then he secured my legs together below my knees as well.

“He did the same thing to Tom, the hems of his trouser legs really flaring out under the tight band, and then his legs below his knees as well, before he rolled up two cloths and pushed them into our mouths.

“We had to watch as he took even more ropes, and used them to tie Gran up the same way as we were – and then they gagged her in the same way as well, before one of the men asked if he would be all right. The man in black nodded, as his partner left – and he told Mom if the phone rang, and they asked for the man of the house, to give the phone to him.

“I can’t remember how long we had to wait until the phone rang, and Mom handed him the handset. He nodded, and then told her to call Dad, give the message he had given her. She did that – and then he bound and gagged her in the same way as us, the four of us just looking round as he waited, and then left as it started to get dark.

“He then got another call, and left – and we had to wait a longer time until Dad came back and freed us……”



There have been no further reports of these two men, but police continue to look for them, for multiple counts of home invasion, hostage taking, and robbery. Util then, the story of the Home Held bandits and who they are remains a mystery. You are watching Channel 18…



She looked at her two daughters as they struggled on the wooden seat. Her fourteen-year-old daughter was wearing a cream waistcoat and short skirt with a chocolate brown blouse and cream shoes, her twelve-year-old one a light brown suede dress with white ankle socks and black shoes.

They looked back at her and nodded, the white tape over their mouths as they twisted round, the same tape holding their wrists together behind their backs, their ankles together. She slowly put the handset down and looked at the man dressed in black, seeing his nod and smile as he said “good – now remember, if it rings again, and they do not ask for the man of the house…”

“I say I cannot talk and hang up,” she said quietly as she stood in her floral print minidress, only wanting the nightmare to end…