Woman tending to chickens attacked and robbed at Miami-Dade home

Mirta Valdes was tending to her chickens before sunrise Monday when three men wearing ski masks and armed with weapons jumped her fence, hit her in the head, then ordered her into her home.

They left carrying a safe and an undisclosed amount of jewelry. Valdes, 58, was left with a head wound, but not one critical enough for her to be taken to the hospital.

“She was the only person in the house,” Miami-Dade Detective Marjorie Eloi said.

According to police, Valdes was accosted just before 6 a.m. while she was doing what she does most mornings, feeding her pet chickens. Once inside the home in the 6200 block of Southwest 85th Avenue, the men tore it apart and demanded the password or combo to a safe hidden in an upstairs closet.

Then they fled.

At midday Monday she was still at the home giving a statement to police as detectives scoured the property for clues. Though her children live with her, they weren’t home during the invasion. None of the chickens were injured.

“Three guys jumped a fence,” Eloi said. “An assault occurred outside the home. Then they forced her inside.”

Police said the thieves had at least one gun and a knife. They got away with jewelry, though police wouldn’t identify the pieces or discuss their value. Police also didn’t say what was in the safe.

The two-floor, tree-lined home sits on a triangular 25,000-square-foot lot nestled between Southwest 85th Avenue and the Don Shula Expressway. Miami-Dade property records show the Valdes family bought the property nearly 20 years ago.

This story was originally published February 1, 2016 at 3:35 PM with the headline "Woman tending to chickens attacked and robbed at Miami-Dade home."