Nephew ‘forged will of uncle who cut him out for getting a divorce’
A NEPHEW forged his Christian uncle’s will after he was disinherited for getting divorced in a case that could have come from a Victorian novel, a court heard.
Hedley Venning, 55, and his girlfriend Sally Clarke, 57, allegedly hoped to pocket £30,000 by writing Venning’s sister, his ex-wife and a carer out of Peter Ascott’s will.
They came under suspicion after relatives realised a new will had been executed on a Sunday, a day devout Mr Ascott used for worship, not business.
Venning’s sister Elizabeth, his former wife Susan and Mr Ascott’s carer Pauline Dummet had been due to inherit £10,000 each, Truro Crown Court heard.
Venning, a builder who was pictured asking Prince Charles for an autograph in flood-hit Boscastle,
‘Religious and moral values’
Cornwall, in 2005, was also due to receive £10,000 in Mr Ascott’s first will made on February 21, 2003.
He had been close to his childless uncle but Jason Beal, prosecuting, said Venning was no longer a beneficiary under a second will made in December 2010.
He said Venning and his wife had marriage difficulties in 2010 and divorced in December 2011.
‘Susan Venning and Mr Ascott were also very close and following the break-up Mr Ascott took the side of Mrs Venning and made it clear he disapproved of how Hedley had behaved,’ Mr Beal said.
‘Peter Ascott was a man with strong religious and moral values and his relationship with Hedley Venning soured.
‘As a result of the way he thought his nephew had behaved he decided to change the terms of his will.’ Before Mr Ascott died in November 2012, aged 89, Venning allegedly wrongly declared that he had reconciled with his uncle.
Mr Beal said: ‘Mr Ascott didn’t inform anyone else he had changed his will or reconciled with Venning and reinstated him as a beneficiary. The reason was he hadn’t.
‘Shortly after Mr Ascott’s death Venning reported to find a third will, allegedly executed in September 2012.’ Mr Beal said Sally Clarke and a third defendant, Stephen Martin, said they had been present when Mr Ascott signed the will.
In it, Susan Venning’s entitlement fell from £10,000 to £1,000 and Mrs Dummet’s to £500. Elizabeth’s share also went down while Venning’s children’s entitlements were said to have gone up.
Mr Beal told jurors: ‘You are used to hearing and reading about new criminal offences, but some criminality is as old as the hills and could be rooted in the pages of a Victorian novel.
‘The third will was examined. It was mostly typed and had a few handwritten entries. One was said to be the signature of Peter Ascott, but was not his signature.
‘A handwriting expert examined it and said it showed a pictorial similarity, but differed in fluency featuring a number of unexpected pen lifts.
‘Venning used the opportunity to disinherit those he had fallen out with and also took ownership of a Honda Jazz motor car which he sold for £4,000.’
Venning and Martin, 52, both of Boscastle, and Clarke, of Cobham, Surrey, deny conspiring to make a false instrument and conspiring to pervert the course of justice.
Venning also denies fraud and converting criminal property. The trial continues.