A tiny 88-year-old woman died in a struggle with a
A tiny 88-year-old woman died in a struggle with a teenage mugger who later described the robbery as ‘a waste of time’ a court heard.
Frail Daisy Fenton, who walked with the aid of stick and weighed just over six stone, clung on to her bag as the 17-year-old tried to pull it from her grasp.
She suffered five broken ribs and fracture to the nose, cheek, arm and breast bone in the incident, the Old Bailey heard.
The mugger, whose name is protected by the court, also inflicted bruises across the old lady’s body and she was found lying in a pool of blood.
When he spoke to friends after the horrific attack, the boy said: ‘There was nothing in her bag.
It was a waste of time,’ jurors were told.
Prosecutor Wendy Joseph, QC, said Mrs Fenton was well known in the Dulwich area where she lived because she was so slight.
‘She was 4 ft 10 ins tall and she weighed less than six and a half stone,’ the QC said.
‘She was frequently seen walking too and from the shops with the aid of a walking stick.
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Mrs Fenton took pills for a heart condition but was ‘generally in good health’ and had a supportive family.
On March 30 this year left her home at Dunnock Court on Rosendale Road to pick up tissues, tin foil and her lottery tickets from the local shop.
A group of the mugger’s friends were in the shop at the time while he waited outside.
As Mrs Fenton left the shop he allegedly said words to the effect of: ‘I’m going to get her bag.
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The others told him not to but the lad began following Mr Fenton down the road, Miss Joseph said.
When he disappeared from view the group of following friends heard the noise of someone falling to the floor and ran off.
The teenager met up with them again at a friend’s house where he complained about the robbery being fruitless.
Mrs Fenton was found shortly afterwards by neighbours who rushed to her aid.
‘Her purse was found underneath hands.
Her walking stick was found underneath a parked car but her shopping bag was not found,’ Miss Joseph said.
Three days after the attack Mrs Fenton suffered a heart attack and died in hospital.
It was believed the old lady had suffered a severe fall until a pathologist found she had severe bruising to her hand.
‘Bruising to the left palm was consistent with someone forcibly pulling something such as the handle of a bag out of her hand as she tried to hold on to it,’ Miss Joseph continued.
‘It was probable she was forced to the ground, either by pulling or pushing.
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Mrs Joseph added the pathologist had concluded ‘that the injuries suffered in the street were part and parcel of what led her heart to stop.
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The teenager denies robbery on March 30 and murder on March 2, the day Mrs Fenton died.
The trial continues.
ends
