Daughter claims that thousands vanished
A DAUGHTER claims her mother had thousands of pounds vanish from her bank account, but her death means they will never see a police investigation into the disappearance concluded.
Judith and Andrew McKinna discovered there appeared to be something wrong with Judith’s 87-year-old mum Cynthia Thomas’s finances when they travelled from their home in London to visit her in Burry Port in October last year.
The pair realised a significant sum of money was missing from her bank account and later found a number of unaccounted for withdrawals of money.
The expenditures showed there was around £4,000 missing from their mother’s bank account.
But police have said that, since the death of Mrs Thomas, there has not been enough evidence to continue the investigation into the missing money.
Mrs Thomas resided at an independent living complex at Tan y Bryn complex in Burry Port, her son-in-law Andrew McKinna said.
“She was a very good soul and moved in to Tan y Bryn to help out with the ‘old folks’ as she would call them,” he said.
“She was very trusting and had lived in Burry Port her whole life and expected that trust back.
“Over the years she had become a lot less mobile and increasingly dependent on a combination of carers, social services and other help.
“Cynthia’s health deteriorated, she had a real lack of mobility and perhaps early onset of dementia so really had to rely on others,” added Mr McKinna.
The pensioner had been living alone for the past two decades since the death of her husband, but her children maintained that the widow wanted to remain in her home town and that she had a wonderful ‘support network’ surrounding her.
But the couple claim Mrs Thomas’s poor health and the fact she was living alone left her vulnerable to be preyed upon by people who gained her trust.
When they discovered the missing money, they said they immediately reported it to the police, in October, 2018.
“They took the matter very seriously and took copies of bank statements and other evidence before submitting their file to the Crown Prosecution Service,” said the couple.
However, in December, 2018, the pensioner slipped and fell and sadly died in late January, 2019.
Without Mrs Thomas as a witness, last week Judith and Andrew were informed that the Crown Prosecution Service had concluded there was insufficient evidence to proceed with the case.
The couple said they understood why the case was dropped, but that it highlighted the potential dangers facing vulnerable people living alone. They urged others with vulnerable loved ones to safeguard and check up on them and their finances.
“We need to protect other vulnerable elderly people from becoming victims and families with elderly parents living alone need to be put on alert,” said the couple.
A spokeswoman for Dyfed-Powys Police said: “Dyfed-Powys Police received a report concerning the theft of money from an elderly woman residing in Burry Port, in October, 2018.
“Sadly, the victim passed away during the course of the investigation and despite officers following all reasonable lines of enquiry, there was not enough evidence to continue the case. The investigation was concluded on July 11, 2019.”