Simon Cowell Finds Woman with a Brick in His Bathroom - Reuters

By Stephanie Rabiner, Esq. at FindLaw.com

Mon Mar 26, 2012 9:43pm EDT

A crazed woman went after television's most reviled music judge on Saturday, breaking into Simon Cowell's London home with a brick. This was after the woman, Leanne Zaloumis, 29, reportedly hurled items at the mansion.

On-site security detained the Simon Cowell intruder after finding her in a bathroom, surrounded by glass and holding a brick. She was placed in a locked room until officers arrived. When they did, she was hiding inside a wardrobe, probably hoping that police would think she had left.

London prosecutors charged Zaloumis on Monday morning with aggravated burglary, reports the Detroit Free Press. The charge, which was read aloud in court, said she had intended to "inflict grievous bodily harm upon a person therein and at the time of committing the said burglary had with [her] a weapon of offence, namely a broken house brick."

Unsurprisingly, the British crime of aggravated burglary mimics criminal law in the U.S. Some states would have charged the Simon Cowell intruder with aggravated burglary, while others would have called it burglary with aggravating circumstances. Some would have charged her with a first degree felony as opposed to a second degree felony or misdemeanor.

Regardless of the name, it's a more serious crime to commit a burglary with the intent to inflict bodily harm. It's also a more serious crime if the defendant carries a weapon, whether or not it has been used. Just as in the U.S., British prosecutors probably would have charged the Simon Cowell intruder with simple burglary if she didn't have the brick.

Related Resources:

• Simon Cowell Confronts Brick-Wielding Intruder in London Home (People)
• Burglary Overview (FindLaw)
• Simon Cowell Sued for 'Public Humiliation' (FindLaw's Legal Grounds)