Carer stole jewellery from pensioners to buy cocaine
A carer left a trail of heartbreak after stealing thousands in jewellery and cash from elderly people to feed her cocaine addiction, a court heard.
Nicola Smyth plundered irreplaceable items, including rings and necklaces, totalling almost £23,000 from victims and sold it to pay for her £50-a-day habit.
Some of those targeted were suffering from dementia and have not been made aware of their loss to avoid distressing them.
Smyth, 46, of Old Chatham Road, Sandling, was jailed for 28 months as a judge said: “None of the jewellery was recovered. You sold the lot.”
The mother of three had been a carer since 1993 and was working for Bluebird Care Agency Maidstone when she started stealing from the homes of 11 vulnerable people.
Prosecutor Alexia Zimbler said Smyth stole £130 from the purse of one elderly woman behind her back.
It was reported to the agency and Smyth was immediately suspended. An investigation revealed other property and money had gone missing when she was on duty.
She had sold various items and received just under £3,500 from pawnbrokers.
A woman in her 80s lost her engagement and eternity rings. The theft was discovered when she planned to wear them for her 60th wedding anniversary. “Because of her dementia, she is still not aware they have been stolen,” Miss Zimbler told Maidstone Crown Court. “The value is £8,258. They have never been recovered.”
Another woman, aged 80, lost £1,650 of jewellery, including some given to her by grandparents when she was 15. She became seriously depressed and had to go to hospital.
One disabled victim, aged 82, lost jewellery worth £11,000. Some was found to be missing on the morning of her granddaughter’s wedding.
Smyth admitted 11 offences of theft and possessing a small amount of cocaine. She asked for a further charge of stealing £95 to be considered.
Miss Zimbler said when Smyth was interviewed in July she denied all the allegations and claimed she was being “100% honest”, but later came clean, saying she had spent the money.
The prosecutor added: “She felt ashamed and totally humiliated for behaving in the way she did.”
Smyth wept as Recorder Mark Van Der Zwart told her: “You have eroded their trust in carers.”
‘She felt ashamed and totally humiliated for behaving in the way she did’