A couple in the West Midlands has described a violent home invasion in which masked intruders beat the husband and threatened to kill his pregnant wife and their unborn child unless cryptocurrency was handed over.
The attack took place on the afternoon of 13 December 2025 in Smith’s Wood, Solihull, on the eastern edge of Birmingham.
The pair, who have asked not to be identified, had just returned to their house at about 5.20pm when three men stepped from a nearby vehicle and forced their way inside behind them.
Police have treated the incident as planned and targeted.
A fourth person remained outside the property and issued directions throughout by video call.
During the ordeal, which the victims say lasted roughly 45 minutes, the husband was struck repeatedly in the face, head and ribs with hammers and left with significant injuries.
His wife, then seven months pregnant with the couple’s third child, was pinned to a sofa.
One of the attackers held a pillow over her face while she struggled to breathe.
The man directing events over the video link told the group that if the cryptocurrency was not transferred immediately, they would stab the woman in the stomach, killing both her and the baby.
She was also threatened with a knife.
Under that pressure the husband moved hundreds of thousands of pounds in digital assets to a wallet controlled by the offenders.
The intruders additionally took several high-value watches before leaving in a vehicle believed to be a black BMW X3, driven by a getaway driver. All four suspects are thought to be in their twenties.
Investigators have released limited descriptions; one man is said to have a small diagonal scar beneath his left eyebrow.
Home security footage captured parts of the entry.
The couple later spoke to the BBC about the episode, which they called horrific.
The wife, in her early thirties, said she feared her husband had been killed when he lay unresponsive on the floor and worried the stress might cause her to lose the pregnancy.
The child was subsequently born at full term.
The husband, an amateur cryptocurrency investor who had left conventional employment in 2023 to trade full time, said the group explicitly threatened both his wife and the unborn baby.
In late September 2026, more than nine months after the robbery, the charity Crimestoppers announced a reward of up to £10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.
The offer, which must be claimed through the charity rather than the police, is due to expire on 24 December 2026.
West Midlands Police continue to investigate.
A regional manager for Crimestoppers noted that the family had been weeks from welcoming a new baby and that the effects of the attack were still being felt.
The case is one of a growing number of so-called wrench attacks, in which criminals use physical violence or threats against cryptocurrency holders rather than attempting purely digital theft. Detectives have appealed for anyone with information to contact Crimestoppers anonymously.