Audrina Patridge locked herself in a closet after Bling Ring burglary

Audrina Patridge locked herself in a closet after Bling Ring burglary

Audrina Patridge locked herself in a closet after discovering her home had been targeted by the Bling Ring burglars.

‘The Hills’ star was one of the celebrities target by a gang of thieves – dubbed the Bling Ring – who broke into the homes of the rich and famous between 2008 and 2009 and she’s now revealed she was left terrified when she realised her house had been ransacked so she hid in a cupboard in case the intruders were still inside.

During an appearance on the ‘Broad Ideas with Rachel Bilson and Olivia Allen’ podcast, she talked about the incident with Bilson who was also targeted by the gang. Audrina said: “I just got back from Australia. I co-hosted the VMAs or something out there. So everything was still packed, got home, changed, and then I went to the party and came home and I was like, ‘Am I losing my mind?’ My suitcase is gone, my laptop, everything is off my bed. Like, what is going on?”

“And then I went in my closet and I called my sister and I was like, ‘OK, if I open my jewellery box and stuff is gone, someone is in my house,’ and I opened it, everything was gone.

“And so that’s when I locked myself in [the closet], ‘cause I didn’t know if they were still in the houe. … Afraid to get off the phone so I had my brother call 911 while I was on speaker and then they sent the cops.”

She added: “They took trash bags of stuff. They knew I was at an Oscars party, and they knew that because I tweeted it.”

However, Audrina is proud that security footage taken from cameras around her home helped bring the culprits – Nick Prugo and Rachel Lee – to justice.

She said: ” I had cameras and my cameras are the ones that caught their faces and I posted it on my website, and said if anyone knows of these people let me know.”

Lee served 16 months in prison for her role in the Hollywood heists while Prugo was behind bars for a year. Fellow Bling Ring member Alexis Neiers was also jailed for a month for her involvement.

Audrina was so scared after the break-in, she left the house and went to stay with her mum, but the actress admitted she felt better when she found out who the burglars were, declaring: “[Discovering it was] two young kids, it took a lot of the anxiety off.”

However, she is still angry about losing so many sentimental items, adding: “I didn’t even get money back. Nothing for anything. They took stuff from my aunt, like vintage Chanel watches and rings.”

Host Rachel Bilson agreed with Audrina, revealing she moved house shortly after a spate of break-ins and she’s still hurt by the loss of her mother’s engagement ring.

She said: “I was out of town when it happened to me. They went into my house five different times. I guess my door – like my back door – was unlocked. ..

“My mom’s first engagement ring was taken. You know, that stuff is like … C’mon you guys … Just give me the sentimental [stuff]. My mom still talks about it.”