A man has confessed to stealing more than £40,000 from his late mother after she gave evidence from beyond the grave.
Derek Snelling’s 93-year-old mother, Ellen, died while he was awaiting trial, but she had given police a video interview in which she said she would like to “wring his bloomin’ neck”.
When Snelling heard the 50-minute tape in court and watched his frail mother on a television screen he changed his plea to guilty and on Friday was jailed for two years.
Exeter crown court heard that Snelling took trips to Europe and north Africa and enjoyed a Mediterranean cruise. Snelling’s daughters had raised concerns about where he was getting the money for expensive holidays when he was only on a state pension.
One daughter took Ellen Snelling to her bank and went through statements that showed her own son had taken £28,520 from one account and £13,000 from her post office account, which received her pension. The fraud went on for six years from 2007 to 2013.
Recorder Robert Pawson told Snelling: “You were living a higher life than you could have done if you had not stolen that money. The sadness is that you were trustworthy for the first significant part of your life. You started defrauding your own mother to the tune of £41,000 and you were shown to be thoroughly untrustworthy when it came down to it.”
John Dyer, defending, claimed Snelling had always looked after his mother well. He said her comment about “wringing his bloomin’ neck” was like a “little boy being scolded”.
Snelling, who had no previous convictions and volunteered with the St John Ambulance, the Royal British Legion, scouts and guides, admitted four charges of fraud by abuse of position.
He was banned by his bail conditions from seeing his dying mother or going to her funeral – but showed the judge a picture of a tree planted in her memory.
A confiscation hearing to claim back the money for his estranged family will be heard later.
