Pictured: Clever Maureen Read, 69, became concerned when she noticed withdrawals from sister’s bank account
A thieving carer was caught stealing money from a disabled 65-year-old after her sister nicknamed ‘Miss Marple’ installed a secret video camera.
Maureen Read, 69, became concerned when she noticed withdrawals from sister Carol Smith’s bank account at cash points she believed she ‘could never get to’ as she uses a wheelchair.
The sister-turned-detective then installed a £60 covert camera inside a digital clock in Miss Smith’s room.
After checking the footage, 69-year-old Mrs Read discovered her sister’s carer of three years, Abdul Jallow, had entered her room and stolen money from her.
Jallow, 31, stole a total of £60 from two bags on a shelf at Miss Smith’s home in a council-run residential unit in the Bitterne area of Southampton, Hampshire.
Southampton Crown Court heard Miss Smith, 65, has cerebral palsy and must use a wheelchair when she leaves her flat.
After Mrs Read noticed a number of withdrawals from her sister’s account at cash points, she decided to become Agatha Christie’s fictional detective Miss Marple and investigate.
Jallow can be seen going through Miss Smith’s possessions in the footage from the £60 hidden camera, which was placed inside a clock radio in Miss Smith’s living room
Sentencing Jallow to 16 months in prison, suspended for 24 months, Judge Christopher Parker said: ‘What you have done has a corrosive effect on other vulnerable people up and down the country who rely on carers’
Jallow, of Southampton, is no longer a carer at the unit and admitted two counts of burglary
Speaking in court, Mrs Read said: ‘I looked at one of Carol’s bank statements and saw money had been taken out at cash machines she could never and would never get to being in a wheelchair.
‘I decided to become Miss Marple and find out what was happening, so I installed a camera to find out who was responsible.
‘It meant I had to lie to my sister to get the hidden camera in, but I knew she would understand – and she has.’
Jallow can be seen going through Miss Smith’s possessions in the footage from the £60 hidden camera, which was placed inside a clock radio in Miss Smith’s living room.
Mrs Read, also from Southampton, added: ‘I spent sleepless nights wondering who had targeted my vulnerable sister. It has left me paranoid.’
A family statement, read in court by prosecutor Simon Jones, said: ‘We did not want to believe that someone who Carol trusted had exploited her, we considered him a good person.
Speaking outside the court, Mrs Read said: ‘I actually feel really bad that I did not get to the bottom of this problem sooner.’ Pictured above, Rosebrook Court where Miss Smith lived
‘Now all we have is anger for what he has done – my sister trusted him and he broke that trust.’
Jallow, of Southampton, is no longer a carer at the unit and admitted two counts of burglary.
Mitigating, Berenice Mulvanny told the court Jallow had been under financial pressures at the time after his work hours had been cut.
She said: ‘He is a genuinely good family man. He has shown regret and genuine remorse for what he has done.
‘During the interviews with probation he has been crying.’
Sentencing Jallow to 16 months in prison, suspended for 24 months, Judge Christopher Parker said: ‘What you have done has a corrosive effect on other vulnerable people up and down the country who rely on carers.
‘They do a thankless, underpaid and difficult job.
‘It is made no easier by people like you who steal from the people you are there supporting.
‘The amount stolen is low in value, but that is not what this is about.
‘The harm caused is aggravated because of the grave breach of trust.’
The judge also ordered Jallow complete 240 hours of unpaid work and pay £60 in compensation.
Speaking outside the court, Mrs Read said: ‘I actually feel really bad that I did not get to the bottom of this problem sooner.
‘I have experienced so many sleepless nights as a result of worrying about my sister – it’s been horrible.
‘He targeted my sister and we trusted him.
‘He would always ask me how I was and how my grandchildren were. He would share pictures of his children with me.
‘I never believed he would target my sister. It made us so paranoid because we didn’t know who to trust.’