A 32-year-old British woman has pleaded guilty to a plethora of charges she was handed after stealing her dead friend’s debit card to buy McDonald’s and lottery tickets. Terrilee Yates, from Manchester in the UK, discovered Jane Godfrey’s body at her home in Swinton in March 2020 and reported it to emergency services. However, she also stole Godfrey’s bank card and when on a bit of a shopping spree with it, the Manchester Evening News reports.
- Yates thought nothing of spending Godfrey’s money. Four hours after finding her friend’s body, Yates used the card to buy food at McDonald’s. An hour later, she withdrew £300 in cash from the account, then purchased £14.50 worth of scratch card lottery tickets, it was revealed during a hearing at Manchester Crown Court.
- She told police Godfrey would have been fine with it. When she was questioned about her usage of the card by police, Yates claimed that both she and Godfrey were drug users who regularly had access to each other’s bank accounts and knew one another’s pin numbers and account details. She also said Godfrey owed her money and had given her permission to take the £300 before she died.
- Yates will avoid jail for what she did. She pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud by false representation and was given an 18-month community order. However, she also has quite a lengthy rap sheet with convictions for robbery, shoplifting, and dishonesty.
- Godfrey’s daughter is devastated over Yates’ crimes. Sadie Bird, Godfrey’s daughter, said in a victim impact statement: “It’s something you don’t even see in horror films. … My mum didn’t deserve this. I’m not saying my mum was a saint, nobody is, but she didn’t deserve for her to do that to her. If she wanted money she could have got money, but for her to just leave her there? I don’t understand.”
