He went to install a bed hoist but what he did next left pensioner devastated
Gabor-Tamas Szilaygi, 36, visited the 86-year-old's home in Blackburn to fit a hoist for her bed on November 5, 2024. But after completing the job, the woman checked her bedroom and noticed her gold and diamond watch was missing from her bedside drawer, along with her wedding ring and a gold and emerald ring, LancsLive reports.
She went back to the front door and saw Szilaygi driving away in his van. She called the police and reported the theft, Preston Crown Court heard.
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The following day, officers stopped Szilaygi driving his van eastbound on the M55. He told them the items they were looking for were in a compartment in the dashboard, and officers found the stolen jewellery - valued at £10,000.
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Szilaygi was arrested and admitted he had stolen the jewellery as he was expecting a child with his partner and was under financial strain to provide for them. However he said he felt too guilty to pawn the items but too ashamed to return them to the owner.
In a victim impact statement, the widow said: "He took advantage of my trust and my physical limitations to steal jewellery my late husband gave me. These items have a deeply personal meaning and losing them has shattered my heart.
"He has not only stolen my valuables but tarnished my precious memories."
She said she now feels anxious in her own home and has had to install security cameras.
She added: "His actions have robbed me of my independence, my peace of mind and my emotional health. He has left me fearful, anxious, scared stressed and isolated in a way that will affect me for the rest of my life."
Szilaygi, of Carlinghurst Road, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to theft and said he was deeply ashamed of what he had done. He said it was a spur of the moment decision to take the jewellery and one he regretted immediately.
The court heard he has no previous convictions and has contributed to his life in the UK paying taxes and working to support his family.
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Recorder Kevin Slack, sentencing, said: "Your victim was clearly a very vulnerable old lady. You gained access to her property and in breach of the trust placed in you, you stole items of great sentimental value."
However he said he considered there is a real prospect of rehabilitation as the defendant is a man of previous good character. He said an immediate prison sentence would impact his partner and two-month-old baby.
Recorder Slack handed down a sentence of two years suspended for two years with 20 days rehabilitation activities and 250 hours of unpaid work. He also ordered him to pay £150 costs and a victim surcharge. The jewellery has been returned to its owner.
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