Distress:

Carer jailed for nine years after telling family not to bother looking for a will

A carer who stole £290,000 from a 102-year-old woman told a relative in Fife “don’t bother looking for the will”.

Julie Sayles, who was jailed for nine years, phoned the nephew of Edith Negus, Alan Ruthven, the day after the centenarian passed away in October 2014.

Mr Ruthven, of St Monans, said: “The following morning at about 10 to nine, I got a phone call. It was from Julie Sayles.

“She said, ‘I don’t know you and you don’t know me but your aunt died last night and don’t bother looking for the will because I’ve got a new one.’”

He added: “She was a cow. That’s a moderate term.”

Sayles, of Bridlington, East Yorkshire, was found guilty of six charges at Hull Crown Court.

The jury was told she had made withdrawals of £7,688, £40,000, £90,000 and several withdrawals totalling £150,000 between February and July 2014 after setting up a joint bank account with Mrs Negus.

The accused used the money to buy two properties.

Sentencing Sayles, 59, Recorder Anthony Kelbrick said she had “coveted” the wealth that frugal Mrs Negus had saved up through hard work.

Mr Ruthven, 79, said: “It’s been a hell of a strain these last couple of years.

“It was all very confusing. Nobody would tell us anything because there was an investigation going on.”

Having moved to Scotland from Bradford, Mr Ruthven and his wife Shirley regularly visited Yorkshire.

“Every time we were down there we used to go across and see her.

“She was a terrific old lass. We’d have a cup of tea and a bun, as you do.

“She was frail, she was nearly 103 but she was still able to make us a cup of tea.”

The day before Mr Ruthven got the call about his aunt’s death, he had been contacted to say Mrs Negus had fallen and been taken to a care home. “That set alarms bell ringing,” he said. In a statement read to the court, Mr Ruthven’s daughter Ann said the devastated family had been “unable to grieve for aunt Edith”.

She said: “Julie Sayles organised the funeral and there was no mention of Edith.

“Edith always wanted a headstone and Julie never provided one for her.

“After the funeral she was laughing on a bench.

“We have sat all week through the court case and listened to the evidence. It has been very distressing.”