Thief steals £4000 from gran

A cruel granddaughter swiped thousands of pounds from her gran.

Deborah Jess cleaned out more than £4000 from the account of Helen Loy, who has since passed away.

Jess, 32, pocketed £4235.03 over a three-month period.

She stole from the pensioner, who passed away earlier this month aged 70, between October last year and January this year.

The details emerged on Wednesday when Jess, of New Cumnock, appeared in the dock at Ayr Sheriff Court to be sentenced. She had earlier pleaded guilty to a single charge of theft, and sentencing had been deferred for background reports to be prepared.

Procurator Fiscal Depute Alison McFadyen told the court Jess had used PayPal to bank the money and had told cops probing the theft she was sorry and was going to pay her back.

Defence solicitor Glenn Davis said Jess suffered from mental health problems, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of an abusive relationship.

He said she was prescribed medication for her mental health but had began selfmedicating and became addicted to cocaine.

And that she stole the money so she could pay back her drug debts after the unnamed dealers involved put pressure on her to pay up.

He said she was “terrified at the prospect of”being sent to jail, adding:“This lady is mortified and will carry that shame for the rest of her life.”

As he placed Jess on a structured deferred sentence, which will see her monitored by the court for three months, Sheriff John Montgomery said:“If I was you and I was genuine about the shame, I would find out who was entitled to benefit from your gran’s estate and see what you can do about making amends to that person or persons. That might help you to come to terms with this dreadful crime.”

Jess is due to return to the court in October to learn her fate.