'Wicked' former carer stole £9k from pensioner with Alzheimer's
22.01.2022 - 07:55
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
A "wicked" former carer who stole from a pensioner's home and helped herself to all of her savings has been put behind bars for 16 months.
Grandmother Mandy Murphy, aged 52, cared for the victim, 93, in her own home until she was moved to a hospital.
Murphy, from Anglesey, Wales, was said to have a "shopping addiction" and stole £9,000 from the pensioner's Post Office account in a total of 16 withdrawals.
She spent the cash on clothes, presents and carpets, as reported by North Wales Live.
Murphy had pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position and burglary.
The prosecution called her crimes "cruel and wicked" and a judge at Caernarfon Crown Court in Wales on January 21 sentenced her to 16 months in jail for fraud and 12 months for burglary, to run concurrently.
Prosecutor Maria Masellis told the court the victim Winifred Egerton lived alone in Benllech. She was bedbound, suffered from Alzheimer's and was insulin dependent.
She relied completely on care nurses coming in every day. One was the defendant.
But in 2020 Mrs Egerton was moved into hospital and in October or November that year Murphy took spare keys from a safe on a wall, knowing they were there for carers, and went into Mrs Egerton's home.
She was familiar with the house having used to turn over Mrs Egerton to prevent bed sores. She stole a Post Office account book from a bedroom drawer.
Between December 2 and December 21, 2020 she visited PO branches on Anglesey and in Bangor. She stole £600 on 16 occasions until the last time when she took the remaining balance of £210. In total, Murphy stole £9,210.
The court heard the burglary and fraud came to light when Mrs Egerton's daughter Julie Webb arrived and noticed items were missing.
She contacted police and CCTV