Knifepoint burglar says weapon was to 'cut onions'

Two men have been sentenced for a burglary in which they forced their way into a man's home and held a knife to his throat.

Kyle Smith, 19, and Matthew Williams, 35, broke into the victim's home in Scarborough on 28 August 2025 and stole several items, including a TV and wallet.

Williams later told police he had helped the victim prepare a Sunday roast and used the knife "to chop onions", in an attempt to explain the presence of his DNA on the weapon when it was recovered.

At York Crown Court on Thursday, Smith, of Blenheim Terrace, Scarborough, was handed a three-year prison sentence, suspended for three years, while Williams, of no fixed abode, was jailed for six-and-a-half years.

Both men admitted aggravated burglary, but denied possessing a knife or bladed article in a public place.

The latter offence would lie on each of their files, York Crown Court said.

Smith was also sentenced for a separate offence of failing to surrender to police or court bail, which he had admitted in April.

Williams was also sentenced for possession of cocaine and cannabis, as well as two separate counts of theft from a shop.

Williams and Smith broke into the victim's home in the Esplanade area of the town at around 22:40 BST on 28 August last year.

The defendants stole a 55-inch television, a wallet, alcohol, tobacco and the knife used to threaten the victim, before fleeing in a silver Ford Transit van that had been stolen in the days leading up to the burglary.

The footage later showed the same van parking on the Edgehill estate, where two men were seen hiding kitchen knives behind a bin before walking away from the area.

Police said fingerprints and DNA evidence linked both men to the burglary, with Williams' DNA found on a cushion zip inside the victim's flat.

Williams was found to be in possession of Class A and Class B drugs at the time of his arrest, and the stolen television and wallet were both recovered from the van.

In a statement read to the court, the victim said he feared he would die during the burglary and had since lost his "sense of security", often waking at night fearing intruders were in his home.

Although he was not physically harmed, the man said the incident had a lasting psychological impact on him and that he thought about it every day.

He said: "I was asleep in my home when I was suddenly awoken by intruders, one holding a knife to my throat.

"I felt completely helpless, in what should have been the safety of my own home."

Det Con Sam Rivers said burglars were a "scourge on our communities" and described burglary as "a crime only the lowest of the low commit".

"The defendant attempted to explain away the damning evidence by claiming his DNA was found on the knife because he had previously been helping the victim chop onions for a Sunday dinner in his flat," said Rivers.

"While imaginative, this explanation was seen for what it was: ridiculous. The reality is this was a violent and premeditated offence."

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.