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EXCLUSIVE: Daring Daylight Home Invasion Shakes Up Marlboro, N.J., Neighborhood

MARLBORO, N.J. (CBS 2) – The nanny was tied up in the basement. The jewelry was missing. A suburban dad came home to a shocking scene, and the robbers were long gone.

There were hugs from homeowner to nanny on Wednesday. The reunion came in the wake of a violent home invasion and robbery in the middle of the day, CBS 2's Derricke Dennis reported exclusively.

"We were burglarized, came home and that's what happened," Elliott Kreppel said.

Kreppel arrived at lunchtime to walk his golden retriever and found his house ransacked, and his nanny home alone, tied up and gagged.

"[It] seems to me they walked right through the front door," Kreppel said.

There was no forced entry, but Kreppel said he immediately noticed clothing inside had been thrown out of the closets, drawers had been rummaged through, and the nanny was cowering in a nearby room.

Kreppel said he called 911 and reported the nanny could barely talk, that she was shaking like a leaf but unharmed, after being thrown against a wall.

All of his wife's jewelry was gone, including diamond earrings, pearls, a Cartier watch, and her wedding band.

"I don't think I have many enemies, but you never know, crazy world we live in," Kreppel said.

His wife and their three children were not home at the time of the incident. Police spent hours collecting evidence, and questioning the nanny, who is in her 30s and has worked for the couple for eight years.

One neighbor said he saw something.

"I don't know if it was suspicious, but there was definitely a blue car standing right there," Manohar Gadaraja said.

Throughout the evening friends and neighbors dropped by with hugs and expressed gratitude that no one was injured, but the question remains: why was this home targeted? How did the robbers know who, or what, was inside?

When asked if he though this could've been an inside job, Kreppel said, "God I hope not."

He didn't want to even think about it, focusing instead on the safety of his home and his family.

Police said the nanny was able to give a description of the two suspects and that an investigation is underway.

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