Man, 80, is jailed for love theft
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/wales/south_west/7042233.stm Version 0 of 1. A "lonely old man" who stole £365,000 from his partner and spent most on his new love has been jailed for two years. David Cryer, 80, of Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, gave his partner's nurse Maureen Edwards, 53, holidays, a car and a £167,000 Leicestershire cottage. But when she finished their relationship, he confessed to police. Cryer admitted 11 offences of theft at Swansea Crown Court, and his barrister James Jenkins said he was living proof there was no fool like an old fool. Jim Davis, prosecuting, told the court that Cryer had lived with Hetti Edwards, known as Gwen, for 14 years. After she suffered a series of strokes he hired nurses to look after her. He fell in love with Maureen Edwards and went nuts. He is stunned by his own stupidity James Jenkins, representing David Cryer One was Maureen Edwards and Cryer fell in love with her. By now Cryer had control of his partner's finances and began siphoning off money. He took the nurse away for weekends and on a £2,500 holiday to Cyprus, but she never let him have sex with her. Mr Davis said the affair came to a head after he paid £167,000 for a cottage in Loughborough, which he placed in Maureen Edwards' name. Days later she told him not to visit her any more, and described him to police as a "fat old git." Vulnerable Mr Jenkins said: "He was a lonely old man and ripe for the picking and, through him, Gwen Edwards was fleeced. "He fell in love with Maureen Edwards and went nuts. He is stunned by his own stupidity. "I cannot understand why she is not in the dock alongside him. "What woman with a shred of decency would accept a house from someone she describes as a fat old git? She is still living in it." Judge Michael Burr said the amount stolen was too high for Cryer to escape jail. "This was a wholesale breach of trust," he added. "It was not just one mistake but a series of dishonest acts against a vulnerable person." Judge Burr said he hoped the house in Loughborough would be sold and the proceeds returned to Hetti Edwards. |