Lonely widow died just after finding out friend had conned life savings from her
A WIDOW died heartbroken after discovering she had been fleeced of half her life’s savings by the woman she thought was her best friend.
Norma McGivern, 76, believed the neighbour she trusted was being kind when she offered to walk her dog Alfie.
But Jacqueline Carolan was secretly taking her bank card and withdrawing up to £250 every time she took out the pet shih tzu.
As the truth emerged, Mrs McGivern suffered a heart attack at her home and later died. Jobless Carolan, 46, persuaded Mrs McGivern to reveal her Pin number because the widow was nervous about using cash machines.
She then volunteered to take Alfie for a walk 14 times over three months.
On each occasion Carolan, who had even gone on holiday with the trusting pensioner, grabbed Mrs McGivern’s bank card from her handbag and used it to make withdrawals totalling £1,870.
She is believed to have used the cash to pay for manicures, a computer tablet and trips abroad, including one to Budapest in Hungary last November, and another to Ibiza.
Mrs McGivern, a retired machinist from Failsworth, Manchester, brushed aside concerns from her family that money was going missing.
But she was left distraught when she checked her bank statements and realised exactly how much had disappeared.
And on the day Carolan was arrested, she had a heart attack and fell downstairs at her home where she lived alone.
She was rushed to hospital but died last December.
Carolan, also from Failsworth, was jailed for six months at Manchester Crown Court on Monday after pleading guilty to fraud and possession of an article to be used in fraud.
Mark Fireman, defending, said: “She is disabled and was suffering from depression at the time.
“She is deeply remorseful for her actions and apologises to the family.”
The court heard that when she was interviewed she admitted the crime, but could not explain it and thought she had only taken £850.
But Judge Bernard Lever told her: “You befriended an old lady in poor health. She regarded you as a close and trusted friend.
“You flagrantly breached her trust and ingratiated yourself with her. You stole her money and that’s despicable behaviour.”
After she was sentenced Mrs McGivern’s family hugged each other in the public gallery and blamed Carolan’s “betrayal of trust” for contributing to the victim’s death.
Mrs McGivern’s daughter Pam Bryan, 48, said: “My mum was a worrier. She couldn’t cope with the fact somebody had done that to her.
“She loved her and thought she was her best friend. I think this contributed to her death.
“She would still be here today without all this. She would easily have more years in her.
“Jacqueline came across as such a lovely lady. But basically she had groomed her, I would say, over the last 12 months.”
She added: “I feel a fool now. It’s as if I didn’t know her. Who would do that to somebody? We all have to work for our money. That money was used so she could get her nails done.
“She bought a tablet computer, she was even bragging about buying it.
“She was a friend. She would wash my mum’s hair, bring coffee and sugar round to the house and say to mum ‘I know you are only on a low pension’.
“My mum couldn’t cope. It was a betrayal of her trust.”
