A drug addict who broke into sheltered housing and battered an elderly man so badly he suffered a brain bleed has been jailed for more than seven years. Samantha McDonnell, 37, forced her way into an old folks home in Bartley Green, Birmingham, last month.
She let herself into three flats and stole from two pensioners and a support worker. During one of the robberies, she was confronted by an 87-year-old man and she demanded cash.
She then brutally attacked him before stealing his bank card, even unplugging the victim’s phone to stop him calling for help. He was left victim lying lifeless on the floor following the sickening attack that caused severe injuries including a broken nose and a bleed on the brain.
McDonnell was nailed by DNA evidence left in the flat and she was arrested the day after the robbery. She admitted theft, robbery and burglary and was jailed for seven-and-a-half years at Birmingham Crown Court.
A West Midlands Police spokesperson said: “While McDonnell is a drug addict and her addiction likely drove her to commit the crimes she did, addiction can be no excuse for violence against a vulnerable, elderly person. The pensioner was left with a broken nose and a bleed on the brain.
"While he has since been released from hospital, his life has sadly been changed forever and he has had to move to a new home due to not feeling safe. Our thoughts remain with the man she attacked as he continues to recover from the horrible ordeal that was inflicted on him.”
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