A 91-year old dementia patient from Newcastle thought she had struck up a seemingly harmless friendship with Irene Robinson, 60 thanks to meeting at their local bingo hall, but in reality, cruel Irene had designs on the elderly ladies’ money. Irene of Arthurs Hill befriended the woman who was described in court as “easily confused, forgetful and far too trusting,” just to get her hands on her cash.
Sometime after the pair became friends, cash started to go missing and unless a magician was popping in, someone was stealing it. Police installed covert cameras in the victims flat after complaints were made and they caught the thief red-handed – Irene was caught in the act on camera stealing from her friend.
Play it Back:
In the CCTV footage released to the press, Irene can be seen walking into the ladies flat with a shopping bag and stops near the kitchen to chat with her. Brazenly, Irene walks to the sofa which is in full view of the woman and picks up her purse and proceeds to open it. In walks the victim and Irene continues to take money from the purse as she watches on – the footage is truly shocking.
Not content with pulling real money from her purse, an exchange of words takes place and just out of shot, the victim produces yet another purse and hands it straight to the thief. Irene opens the purse again and starts pulling even more money out before pocketing it. The pair disappear from view and a few seconds later, Irene appears with her hands in her pockets and walks out of the flat – no goodbye, no thank you or anything.
Watching the footage will send your head into a spin!
The Sentencing:
Irene who had no previous convictions, was summoned before Newcastle Crown Court in the UK for her actions. Judge Sarah Mallet said: "The CCTV shows you stealing from her purse as she's stood right in front of you. She was an extremely vulnerable victim, and this is a despicable offence. You targeted her because of her vulnerability."
It was also revealed in court that a warden challenged the bingo player after watching her heading into the dementia patients flat. Carers noticed £70 missing in March and a further £80 was taken later in the same month. Miss Slaughter, the victim’s carer stated in court: "They (police) left four marked £20 notes so the they could trace who was taking the money and the money was put inside her purse." After Irene had visited, the police stopped and checked her to find the four notes in her possession.
The warden at the sheltered accommodation added: "I can't believe someone would deliberately target such a vulnerable and lovely elderly lady. Pleading guilty to two offences of burglary, Irene was handed a two-years suspended sentence with a 12-month nightly curfew and must seek mental health treatment.
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