Carer who stole jewellery worth more than £10,000 from elderly dementia sufferers jailed

The family of Bridie Smith’s first victim noticed jewellery disappearing from her home in Colne near Huntingdon in July. They searched the home of the woman, now in her 90s, but could find no trace of the items.

They began to suspect Smith of having stolen the jewellery after noticing she wasn’t carrying out tasks asked of her and spending unnecessary time in the woman’s bedroom.

Smith, (29), also acted as a carer for another elderly woman in Warboys but on 23 August, the woman’s family noticed three rings had gone missing.

The family, knowing no-one else had visited the woman’s home apart from Smith as her carer, called police to report the theft.

They decided to scour local pawn shops and antique dealers where they found three identical rings to those stolen at an auction house in St Ives, which they were later reunited with.

The family of Smith’s first victim decided to do the same and discovered a sapphire and diamond ring online on an auction site they believed to be theirs.

They bought the ring back for £558 after the auctioneer said there was a lack of proof they owned it. This was the only one out of the first victim’s 12 items of jewellery to have ever been recovered.

The family then searched through old photo albums to find images of the stolen jewellery which matched those missing and those being sold by the auction house. Alongside this they found previous insurance valuations of the jewellery, with just five of the stolen items worth more than £10,000.

Smith, of Crest Drive, Fenstanton, was interviewed in September and initially denied the allegations, as well as ever seeing any of the stolen jewellery.

However, she later admitted stealing the jewellery from the two women in their 90s and selling them to auction houses.

Smith claimed she had been ill and had turned to theft to pay her rent as she didn’t receive sick pay, admitting that she felt sad for what she had done.

She was later charged with two counts of theft and pleaded guilty to both charges at a previous hearing.

Smith was sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court on Friday (11 March) where she was handed nine months in prison.

PC Will Porter, who investigated, said: “What Smith did was truly heartbreaking for her victims, one of which thought it was her mistake that the jewellery was lost due to her dementia. She spent hours looking for each item and often lay awake at night worrying.

“I would like to praise both victim’s families for their sheer determination which meant they were reunited with some of the stolen items. However some of the jewellery, which included an engagement ring for a marriage spanning nearly 50 years, have never been recovered.

“For both victims in this case the jewellery triggered fond memories of loved ones, and those memories are now fading because those items were stolen from them. The items were irreplaceable by their very nature, and no amount of insurance money or criminal justice can replace them. I hope Smith now reflects on her behaviour.”