Simon Cowell's London home burglarized, woman had brick, hid in wardrobe, police say

By: Crimesider Staff
Topics: Daily Blotter

Simon Cowell attends the launch of Britain's Got Talent at BFI Southbank on March 22, 2012 in London, England.

/ Ian Gavan/Getty Images

(CBS/AP) LONDON - A woman accused of breaking into Simon Cowell's house wielding a broken brick and then hiding in the entertainment mogul's wardrobe appeared in a London court Monday.

Leanne Zaloumis, 29, was charged with aggravated burglary after the Saturday night incident.

Prosecutors said Cowell was watching TV in the bedroom of his London mansion when he heard a loud bang coming from his bathroom and discovered Zaloumis inside with a brick.

Cowell's security staff confined the intruder to a bedroom until police arrived and found her in the wardrobe. Police officers drew their weapons as they arrested Zaloumis, and later found blood stains in the bathroom, prosecutor Paul Mitchell said.

The charge, read out in court, alleges that Zaloumis intended to "inflict grievous bodily harm upon a person therein and at the time of committing the said burglary had with you a weapon of offense, namely a broken house brick."

Zaloumis also is accused of shouting at Cowell and hurling items at his bathroom window while standing on a roof outside.

Cowell, 52, has gained fame in both Britain and North America as producer and an acerbic judge on TV talent shows including "The X Factor" and "America's Got Talent," and "American Idol."

Cowell spokesman Max Clifford said Cowell had described the incident as "just like something out of a horror movie."

"He was shaken up," Clifford said. "Strange as it might seem he feels lucky, because it could have been a gun or a knife in her hand."

District Judge James Henderson ordered Zaloumis detained until her next hearing on June 12.

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by JG1027 April 24, 2012 4:20 AM EDT: Why should Simon have to be more careful about what he says? Should we all live in fear of other people harming us physically because they disagree with what we say? Or how we say it for that matter?

I absolutely 'love' Simon and his comments... I hope the only thing this changes in Simon's life, is that he speaks with his Chief of Security and perhaps makes some changes to prevent something like this from happening again... and to be honest, I find even that a sad thing.; Reply to this comment