Caught on camera, carer who stole cash from OAP 64 times
SITTING casually at a kitchen table, a carer steals cash from the 84-yearold she was trusted to look after.
It was a crime Donna White committed at least 64 times, fleecing thousands of pounds from Diana Bramall.
She was unaware, however, that Mrs Bramall’s suspicious family had set up a hidden camera in the kitchen to find out why the pensioner’s money was going missing.
Her son Stephen, 62, said he felt physically sick when he viewed the video footage several months later and found out the truth.
White could be clearly seen pulling out wads of notes from her victim’s purse, carefully counting it and putting it in her pocket. She was jailed for ten months at Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday after admitting theft.
The carer, 48, of Thurgoland, near Barnsley, and her sister had looked after Mrs Bramall, whose husband Norman is 89, for three years. As well as paying for their services, former hairdresser Mrs Bramall treated them to cruises and holidays as an extra thank you.
White’s betrayal has had a devastating effect on her victim. Mrs Bramall said: ‘It made me feel ill. We had been so generous with her, which is why it hurt. It has knocked me for six. I’m an 84-year-old woman who is reliant on other people to help her and I’ve just lost my trust in people.’
She added: ‘When you see the video, she was straight into the kitchen, straight into my handbag. She should have got a longer sentence. At least she has the disgrace of going to prison.’
The court heard it was impossible to know exactly how much was stolen but the prosecution put the total at around £3,600.
White stole cash 64 times in four months. On one day she stole three times, and she even took money on Christmas Day and Christmas Eve.
Beverley Tait, prosecuting, said the offences were caught on camera between November last year and March. However, the offending had probably gone on for far longer.
Each week Mrs Bramall’s other son Michael, 63, cashed a cheque for his mother to allow her to pay her bills and fund her activities. In August last year Mrs Bramall asked if he was collecting the correct amounts because the money she was getting was less than the amount written on her cheques.
The family installed the secret camera which later showed White repeatedly stealing. Stephen Bramall said several months of footage had not recorded correctly so many more thefts could have taken place.
Sean Fritchley, defending, said White had got into financial problems with a convenience store she was running. He put the thefts at around £1,000.