A Kenyan woman in UK has been handed a two year sentence in jail for stealing from an elderly woman suffering from Alzheimer’s disease whom she had been caring for.
Kisella Hillman, 27, was found guilty after allegedly stealing £51,500 (sh6.8million) from 85-year-old Kathleen Brindle of Frome.
During the sentencing on May 19, Hillman was accused of stealing from the woman’s bank accounts and directing money to Kenya where her mother Sarah Hillman runs an orphanage in the town of Kitui.
Her mother started the Mama Upendo Children’s fund which has been helping the less fortunate children in the Nairobi area.
She was accused of siphoning the money over a period of three weeks during which time she had been employed to look after Mrs Brindle. She is alleged to have committed the acts between November 27, 2013 and December 17, 2013.
During the trial, the court heard that Ms Hillman took Mrs Bridle to the bank where they went to withdraw money. Hillman told the bank staff that Bridle wanted to withdraw the money and transfer it into a new account.
The staff at the bank became suspicious as Ms Bridle seemed unaware of her financial situation and was seeming not sure of what she was doing.
At one point when a banker asked the reason why Ms Bridle was withdrawing the money, she looked up at Hillman and asked her “why are we doing this”?
At that point. the defendant who is not related to Bridle said “It’s ok Grandma. It’s written down at home.”
As soon as the transfer was approved, a number of the bank’s staff were upset with one of them breaking down in tears.
The money was transferred to another bank and checks were made out in the name of Mrs Bridle.
Hillman then took her to a check cashing shop with her passport and utility bill where they received the cash.
The transactions and withdrawals were discovered by Mrs Brindle’s family member after Hillman had been dismissed.
When arrested and interviewed by police, Hillman told them the money had been given to her as a gift.
She claimed that she had spent some of the money to pay for time in a recording studio and then donated the rest to an orphanage operated by her mother in Kenya.
Investigating officer DC Jon Hooper said: “This is a despicable crime against a very vulnerable victim.
“She systematically abused her position of trust to steal large amounts of money over the course of a month in 2013.
“This case illustrates that we all have a part to play in protecting the most vulnerable in our society.
“We will use all available resources to bring offenders to justice.”
KISELLA PERFORMING IN KENYA IN A CHARITY EVENT
