A man has been slapped with a lengthy prison sentence after killing a retired nurse in her home and making away with her handbag.
29-year-old Hugo Da Silva Pires was sentenced on Monday (November 25) to 12 years' behind bars for manslaughter, burglary and fraud after breaking into Nelly Akomah's home in Croydon in June last year when he knew she'd be alone.
Pires had recently helped fit a kitchen at the property and earlier that day had helped Ms Akomah register kitchen appliances.
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During the robbery, after Pires had cut the CCTV and entered her home, Ms Akomah confronted him. He attacked her, and this ended with her falling down the stairs and dying. Police say he stepped over her body to make off with her handbag. He later used her bank cards to buy phones, children's bedding and power tools.
The thug was caught after CCTV showed him using one of the cards, with his DNA being found beneath Ms Akomah's nails.
He tried to cover his tracks by entering a shipping address in the Azores for everything he bought with the cards, but entered his own address in Thornton Heath when trying to buy an iPhone. He eventually threw them away at Clapham Junction station.
With the help of his girlfriend, Catiana Feliciano, he got rid of his own phone. She was sentenced to two years in prison back in January for fraud and perverting the course of justice.
The pair tried to flee the UK but police tracked them to Stansted Airport and arrested them before they could board their plane.
DCI Kate Blackburn said: The circumstances of Nelly's death are truly devastating. Nelly was well loved and highly respected in her community, she was a retired nurse and a treasurer for Tooting Methodist Church. She was an extraordinary mother, grandmother, sister, teacher, leader and friend to many, and she is dearly missed by all who knew her.
"Da Silva Pires crept into Nelly's home at night, whilst he knew she was upstairs and awake. He intended on stealing from her at any cost. Nelly was an elderly woman of small stature, who had only ever showed him kindness and trust.
"Instead of fleeing when he was discovered by Nelly, he violently confronted her which resulted in her falling down the stairs and sadly dying. Da Silva Pires didn't try to help Nelly, he instead walked over her lifeless body on the stairs and left the house with her handbag.
"Da Silva Pires is an abhorrent man, whose greed and desire to escape responsibility for his actions, resulted in him killing Nelly."
Ms Akomah's family released a statement after the sentencing, saying: "The past 17 months have been an unimaginable ordeal for us. We have endured grief, heartbreak, and the long process of seeking justice.
"We want to thank the police (in particular our Family Liaison Officer and case officer) and everyone who worked so hard to ensure that Nelly's voice was heard.
"No punishment can ever bring our mother, grandmother, sister, friend and mentor Nelly back, or fill the void her absence has left in our lives.
"We will forever cherish our memories with the matriarch of our family and community, whose life was taken far too soon. Nelly found joy in serving and helping those around her. A church leader with a 30 plus year nursing career, she cherished her life, her faith and her family and friends."Nelly brought compassion and care to everyone she came across in her life and was looking forward to celebrating her 77th birthday with more energy and vivacity than ever.
"Hugo Da Silva Pires is a heartless individual. He deliberately preyed on an elderly woman who trusted him in her home as a tradesman. The manslaughter conviction can never quantify the severity of this crime, and the lasting impact that Da Silva Pires' callous motivations will have on the many, many people who loved Nelly.
"As we move forward, we ask for privacy as we can finally grieve and try to rebuild our lives. We hope that this sentencing serves as a message that such senseless violence and greed has no place in our society."
