This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Robyn Irvine awoke to the sound of a click Saturday night. When she opened her eyes, a stranger's face was peering into hers. Then she felt a hand trying to slip the watch off her wrist.
But Irvine didn't scream or freeze with fear — as ordinary people like you or I might. Instead, she grabbed her trusty ax and the man retreated, according to CBS Los Angeles.
As it turns out, the Hemet, Calif., woman is an ax-throwing champion, Fox News reports. She later told police that should couldn't have caught the man, but "I could've thrown" the ax. Irvine added that should could have hit the man in the spine and paralyzed him if she had wanted to.
But she didn't. Instead, the man ran away and police later found him hiding in a bush, probably scared to death.
The video above, from KCAL 9 via Live Link, includes an interview in which Irvine tells the terrifying but ultimately triumphant tale herself.
Irvine had this message for anyone else who dares to pull a similar stunt: "If you're in my house, you're not walking out." No doubt, she means it.
— Jim Dalrymple II