Callous carer stole valuables from dying pensioner and tried to sell them for £24k at auction

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A callous carer stole two valuable ornaments from a dying pensioner and tried to sell them for £24,000 at auction.Rebecca Morley, 39, helped herself to two rare 18th century figurines that were stood in a cabinet at the elderly man's house.

When he died, she waited six months before taking the objects to Bonhams Auctioneers and making up a story that they were family heirlooms given to her by a late grandmother, Devon Live writes.When the truth was finally uncovered, Morley carried on lying and said that she had discovered them in a rubbish bag.

A judge at Exeter Crown Court branded her account as 'ludicrous' and said that the theft was 'wicked'. But he spared her jail by imposing a suspended sentence with unpaid work.

Morley, of Lock Close, Sidmouth, admitted theft. Prosecutor Mr Herc Ashworth said Morley was employed by Fourways Community Care as a care assistant and had been looking after an elderly man called David Griffin.In March 2020 Bonhams were asked to produce a valuation report on items at the home.The belongings included Meissen figurines from the Duke of Weissenfels series dating from circa 1744 and valued at between £8,000 and £12,000 each.When Mr Griffin died in December 2020 a second valuation was made but the figures of Pierrot and Tataglia from the collection were missing.In June 2021 Morley contacted Bonhams and brought the stolen figures in for a valuation, claiming they were given to her five years earlier.Police seized the porcelains and quizzed Morley but she repeated her lie about them once belonging to her grandmother.