Camera caught thefts from dementia sufferer’s purse
A SUSPICIOUS son set up a hidden camera to catch a carer stealing cash from his 92-year-old mother.
Deborah Carrigan, 43, was filmed taking bank notes and coins from the purse of dementia sufferer Ada Berlin during visits.
The care assistant then wiped her fingerprints from the purse while making sure Mrs Berlin was not looking.
Simon Berlin rigged up a camera in a smoke detector after noticing his mother’s money was being spent faster than normal.
Carrigan, from Croydon, was employed by Allied Healthcare, then known as Saga, and had debts of £10,000.
She was recorded taking £75 from Mrs Berlin’s purse during four incidents in 2013.
Mr Berlin would provide his mother with cash but was often surprised at how much money she was getting through.
In one raid Carrigan was seen entering the kitchen and looking over her shoulder before she opened the purse and removed one bank note and several coins.
She then went over to the sink to wipe down the purse before putting the money in her pocket. Mrs Berlin, who died aged 94, was suffering from dementia and memory loss at the time of the thefts and received three visits a day from carers at her home in Caterham, Surrey. The Old Bailey heard Carrigan initially denied the thefts, claiming Mrs Berlin asked her to buy shopping. The carer confessed when the case was brought to trial. She admitted four counts of theft by abuse of position but was spared jail by Mr Recorder Sir Geoffrey Nice QC who said: “This was a breach of trust which is more serious because of the vulnerability of the woman you were caring for.” She was given a three month prison sentence suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 12 months of supervision and 200 hours of community service. She was also ordered to pay a £100 victim surcharge.