Chilling CCTV shows pregnant woman and her boyfriend ‘who strangled pensioner then left her body to rot at home going on massive £13,000 spending spree using 71-year-old’s bank card after murder’

Chilling CCTV exhibits a pair accused of happening a large £13,000 spending spree utilizing a financial institution card belonging to an aged pensioner they allegedly murdered then left to rot in her residence.

Susan Hawkey, 71, was discovered tied up underneath a cover in her flat in Neasden, northwest London on September 26 final 12 months.

Pregnant Chelsea Grant, 28, and her boyfriend Xyaire Howard, 23, are accused of strangling Mrs Hawkey to dying after forcing her to offer them her PIN quantity. The couple allegedly focused Ms Hawkey in a collection of road robberies earlier than utilizing her stolen home keys to rob her at her residence.

The pair allegedly spent £13,000 of her cash, and a collection of CCTV clips had been proven to the Outdated Bailey jury of the couple blowing her money. They allegedly used the cardboard at Poundland, TK Max, Primark and Sports activities Direct. Perfumes valued at £241 had been snapped up from the perfume division of John Lewis at Westfield Purchasing Centre in Shepherd’s Bush on September 11 they usually allegedly blew one other £180 on garments at Timberland there.

In addition they made journeys to H&M, Clarkes and Adidas in Westfield and allegedly used the cardboard to get taxis, buses and burgers and draw massive sums of cash from a comfort retailer cashpoint.

Prosecutor Annabel Darlow has informed the courtroom Ms Hawkey had been compelled to disclose her PIN quantity. 

‘It was solely, we recommend, if she was the sufferer of appreciable violence and aggression that she would have handed over her PIN,’ she mentioned.

‘The ligature round Ms Hawkey’s neck had been tightened with ample power to interrupt one of many bones in her neck and the prosecution says she was strangled by one in all these defendants in an assault motivated purely by greed and self-interest.

‘They wished to cease Ms Hawkey so they may spend her cash at will. They wished to cease Ms Hawkey ringing the police.

‘After they’d murdered Ms Hawkey the defendants used the financial institution playing cards they’d stolen from her to go on a large spending spree.

‘Within the house of simply three weeks, they burnt their method via about £13,000 value of Ms Hawkey’s cash – depleting her financial institution steadiness from simply over £16,000 to just a little over £3,000 and utilizing her card on 146 separate events.’

In CCTV proven to the jury, Howard and Grant had been seen shopping for groceries at Tesco in Quadrant Court docket, Empire Manner, Wembley, on September 7. At ‘Puma’ in Wembley Park, Howard tries to purchase items value £417.60 however Grant has to pay in money when the transaction is declined. They’re additionally seen at Claire’s Equipment, Wembley Park, London, and the Enviornment Mini Mart in Empire Manner, Wembley. 

On September 18 they returned to Westfield, spending £659 on sun shades and watches at London Time.

After clearing out the checking account, Howard was looking for out when her subsequent pension fee was going to be paid when he was arrested.

Grant was making searches about the way to cowl up the odor of a corpse together with ‘are you able to odor a lifeless physique from outdoors the home’ and ‘is a lifeless physique a really sturdy odor.’

Grant and Howard, of Neasden, deny homicide.

Grant denies three counts of theft whereas Howard denied two and admitted one.

The trial continues.