A knock at the door... then burglars burst in and battered father of a perfect family

Paul Kohler was left with 'life changing' injuries after being savagely beaten

He is still in hospital and has undergone six operations to rebuild his face

Mr Kohler had been playing board game with his family when doorbell went



Burglars straddled and punched the lawyer shouting 'where's the money'

Men attempted to use gaffer tape to tie down his screaming wife Samantha

The 50-year-old was held down as three men beat her academic husband

His daughter and her boyfriend were upstairs and alerted police to the scene

Two 'blood-soaked' men arrested while police hunt the other two suspects



A Polish man, 32, has been charged with GBH and aggravated burglary

A second man, 23, has also appeared before Wimbledon Magistrates' Court



Bloodied: Paul Kohler was left with 'life changing' injuries following the brutal attack at his family home

A top legal academic was savagely beaten when he answered the door of his £2million home to a gang of knife-wielding robbers.



Father of four Paul Kohler, 55, suffered life-changing facial injuries after four masked men leapt on him screaming, ‘Where’s the money?’

The university lecturer desperately tried to fight off the ‘sadistic’ attackers as they hit his wife and attempted to hood her and tie her to a chair with gaffer tape.

He was probably saved from a worse fate thanks to his daughter who locked herself in her bedroom after hearing the commotion and dialled 999.

Police raced to the property where they arrested one blood-soaked suspect and another as he cowered underneath a parked car nearby.

Police are still hunting for the two remaining suspects, who are believed to be in their 20s or 30s and of eastern European heritage. They are also looking for a silver VW two-door cabriolet car used as a getaway vehicle.

Detective Inspector Dan O’Sullivan, who is leading the inquiry, said the house was left ‘covered in blood’ in the most brutal assault he has seen in more than 20 years of policing.

Detectives believe Monday night’s robbery – as the family played a board game – was well-planned and targeted but are perplexed by the motive behind the ultra-violent attack.

One line of inquiry is that Mr Kohler, who is head of law at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, is the victim of mistaken identity or that the gang simply struck at the wrong house.

A 23-year-old Polish man appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court this morning and was charged with grevious bodily harm and aggravated burglary. He was remanded in custody until August 27 where he will reappear at Kingston Crown Court.



Yesterday, a 32-year-old Polish national was remanded in custody at the same court having also been charged with GBH and aggravated burglary.



Happy family: Mr Kohler is pictured with, from left, his daughters Eloise and Saskia, wife Samantha and daughters Bethany and Tamara. He is currently undergoing operations in hospital to rebuild his face

Detective Inspector Dan O'Sullivan, of Merton Burglary Squad, said: 'The victim and his family are distraught and they cannot understand why they were targeted in this way. We believe that the motive for this horrendous crime is purely for financial gain, and the attackers thought there was cash within the property.



'The level of violence used is unprecedented for this borough, and I'm appealing to anyone who was in the area between 21:00-23:00hrs to come forward and speak to us if they heard or saw anything suspicious. We are also seeking information regarding a silver car the suspects may have used.



'The fast response to the 999 call ensured that two suspects were apprehended and the victim could receive immediate first aid.

'I must stress that this appears to be an isolated incident, and such cases are thankfully rare. However, this serious attack is now subject of a meticulous enquiry whilst we work to support individuals affected by the events and the local community. Officers are currently conducting high visibility patrols and speaking to residents to answer their concerns.'

Mr Kohler remained in hospital where he has already undergone six operations to rebuild his face.

He will have to have further reconstructive surgery to repair a shattered eye socket and forehead.

Couple: Mr Kohler (pictured with his wife Samantha), is Head of Law at the School of Oriental and African Studies. Last night, Samantha said her husband fought tirelessly to survive, saying: 'He was so brave'

Mr Kohler’s wife Samantha MacArthur described the attackers as ‘cowardly and wicked’ and praised her husband’s bravery.

The couple married in April in Jesus College Cambridge where their four daughters were bridesmaids.



Miss MacArthur, 50, said: ‘This was just totally pointless and totally cruel and cowardly. What sort of men, covering their heads, hold a man down and just beat him for no reason?’

‘He is amazingly brave. Three men were beating him up and he didn’t stop. He fought the whole way and I’m sure if he hadn’t it would have been a lot worse for all of us. It was incredibly traumatic and we are very angry and upset. We have no idea what has happened. We have no reason.’

The attack took place as the couple played a board game with daughter Eloise, 24, and her boyfriend at their home in Wimbledon, south-west London.



Proud parents: Mr Kohler and his wife Samantha are pictured with their daughter Eloise, who dialled 999

Couple: Mr Kohler (left) had gone into the kitchen of his home (right) when he heard the doorbell at about 10pm



During a break in the game, Miss MacArthur and the youngsters went upstairs and Mr Kohler went into the kitchen when he heard the doorbell at around 10pm.

He answered the door to a smartly dressed man who proceeded to pull a balaclava over his face before barging into the house and punching Mr Kohler in the face. Three masked accomplices then charged inside and knocked Mr Kohler to the ground.

One sat astride Mr Kohler’s chest and pummelled his face as the others kicked him and attempted to wrap his head in tape.

Miss MacArthur said: ‘I heard him starting to shout “Help” so I ran out of the bedroom and met two masked men on the landing.



CCTV footage in Wimbledon Town Centre shows the suspect running across the street at 10.03pm

Metropolitan Police are appealing to anyone who saw the man or a silver Volkswagen on the night in question

‘One of them pushed me over on to the ground and put clothing over my head. I could just hear Paul shouting, “Why are you doing this?” He was just screaming in pain as they hit me.’

Police arrived at the house in minutes after her daughter locked herself in her room with her boyfriend and rang 999.

After arresting two men, officers found a trail of discarded stolen property including iPhones, laptop computers and jewellery. A large kitchen knife was also tossed away.

One suspect is a Polish national who travelled to the UK after spending eight years in prison for an unknown offence in his homeland.

Scene: Mr Kohler's daughter was upstairs with her boyfriend in the house in Kings Road, Wimbledon (pictured)

A CCTV camera caught one of the escaped robbers as he ran off towards Wimbledon town centre.

Miss MacArthur, who runs a bar in London’s Covent Garden with her husband, said the family is ‘shaken’ but added: ‘We stayed at home last night and we are not going to let this stop us living in our own house.’

Mr Kohler’s brother Marcus said he had described one of his attackers as a ‘sadist’. Describing Mr Kohler’s academic work, he said: ‘He is a force of positive teaching and looks after his students, so this is just totally alien.’