Susan Kettley, 61, (pictured) took out a £10,000 loan in the name of her 73-year-old patient Maria Hayward and stole thousands more
An ‘evil’ live-in carer who plundered £17,000 from the dementia-hit professor she was looking after has been jailed for 20 months.
Susan Kettley, 61, took out a £10,000 loan in the name of her 73-year-old patient Maria Hayward and stole thousands more, during a heartless scheme over four months.
Kettley, from Telford in Shropshire, pilfered the savings while she had been tasked to cook, clean and help out with every-day jobs for the former languages teacher.
She admitted theft and four counts of fraud at Amersham Crown Court.
Speaking after the trial, Mrs Hayward’s daughter Nalu said: ‘She’s an evil, evil person.
‘I didn’t want any mercy shown towards her because I don’t believe she will ever change.
‘This woman has no shame. She started working for us right at end of October [last year] and within just nine days she was already stealing from my mother.
‘She set up a direct debit from my mum’s bank account to pay for her Direct Line car insurance and used my name to transfer money form her account to Africa through MoneyGram. She was so blatant and had no shame whatsoever.’
Kettley’s fraud came to light at the end of January when Miss Hayward, who regularly transfers money to her mother, telephoned her bank only to be told the account was heavily overdrawn.
‘At first I didn’t realise it was her [Kettley] and assumed there was some other problem,’ she explained.
Kettley (right) pilfered the savings while she had been tasked to cook, clean and help out with every-day jobs for former languages teacher, Mrs Hayward (left)
‘Kettley was just so lovely and softly-spoken, I just couldn’t believe it. Even when my mum had gone into hospital with a urinary tract infection she would say ”Let me help you out with the house”.
‘I thought she was trying to be helpful but I now know she just wanted to get back in the house to get the paperwork for her loans that she had had sent there.’
Kettley even convinced Miss Hayward that her mother, who used to teach English, Portuguese and Italian, was imagining her money troubles.
Miss Hayward said: ‘My mum kept saying that Sue kept taking her bag and I assumed it was the dementia and had to say ”No mum, don’t be silly”.
‘She made me not believe my own mum and I’m going to have to forever live with that guilt now.’
She made me not believe my own mum and I’m going to have to forever live with that guilt now
Kettley started working for and living with Mrs Hayward in October 2016 and was arrested in August this year.
A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: ‘Kettley stole £17,109.55 from a vulnerable woman in her 70s for whom she was meant to be caring at her home in Beaconsfield, Bucks.
‘Kettley also applied for a £10,000 loan and credit cards in the victim’s name. She also paid for her car insurance with the victim’s money.’
Detective Constable Lynda Stearman said: ‘Kettley was in a position of trust as the carer for a vulnerable victim. She abused this position of trust.
‘Kettley started working for victim in October 2016. The agreement was that Kettley would live at victim’s home in Beaconsfield where she would look after the victim, carrying out tasks such as cooking and cleaning.
‘The defendant stole £17,109.55 from the victim, and obtained a £10,000 loan and also attempted to obtain a credit card in the victim’s name but thankfully the credit card application was declined by the bank because of an error with the victim’s date of birth.
‘However, Kettley did successfully apply for another credit card in the name of the victim and paid for her car insurance with the victim’s money.
‘I hope this investigation serves as a reminder to anyone who is planning to defraud another, especially a vulnerable victim, that you will be caught and jailed.’