101-year-old woman scares off thief with stick
A 101-year-old woman fought back when a thief intruded into her home in northern Sweden, beating him over the head with a stick and frightening him from the house.
“I’m glad that I didn’t hit so hard that I hurt him,” 101-year-old Umeå resident Barbro Boström told daily Aftonbladet.
When the 44-year-old thief announced he was a policeman and made his way into Boström’s house in January, she was initially shocked to be roughly pushed by the man into her own living room.
However, the centenarian was quick to respond, and grabbed her litter stick that she usually uses to pick up fallen objects from the floor.
“Do you really want it to be on your conscience that you murdered a 100-year-old,” the woman allegedly told the thief, before pushing him up against the wall and waving her stick high in the air.
When an alert neighbour opened the door to look in on the melee, the bungling burglar made a dash, running away through the front door.
The incident was just one of the fraudsters six failed attempts, wrote Aftonbladet, however he had successfully scammed more than a dozen people before being caught by police.
Throughout December and January, the thief had been making attacks on elderly people’s homes, dressing as a policeman and conning his way into their houses.
It is alleged that the robber stole from a total of 16 households, of which some 14 victims were over the age of 90.
On January 30th, the man was stopped by police in Sundsvall, northern Sweden, and 155,000 kronor ($21,435) worth of jewellery, make-up, and cash were discovered in his car. On top of this, the man is believed to have withdrawn 91,000 kronor from stolen bank cards.
Prosecutors told the paper that they're expecting a prison sentence for the man, who stands accused of aggravated theft and fraud.
“He has taken advantage of the victims given their old age. They have quite simply not dared to refuse in some instances, as they have believed he was a police officer,” said prosecutor Jonas Svanfeldt to the paper.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the man has been convicted for similar crimes before.
The 44-year-old has denied the charges.
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“I’m glad that I didn’t hit so hard that I hurt him,” 101-year-old Umeå resident Barbro Boström told daily Aftonbladet.
When the 44-year-old thief announced he was a policeman and made his way into Boström’s house in January, she was initially shocked to be roughly pushed by the man into her own living room.
However, the centenarian was quick to respond, and grabbed her litter stick that she usually uses to pick up fallen objects from the floor.
“Do you really want it to be on your conscience that you murdered a 100-year-old,” the woman allegedly told the thief, before pushing him up against the wall and waving her stick high in the air.
When an alert neighbour opened the door to look in on the melee, the bungling burglar made a dash, running away through the front door.
The incident was just one of the fraudsters six failed attempts, wrote Aftonbladet, however he had successfully scammed more than a dozen people before being caught by police.
Throughout December and January, the thief had been making attacks on elderly people’s homes, dressing as a policeman and conning his way into their houses.
It is alleged that the robber stole from a total of 16 households, of which some 14 victims were over the age of 90.
On January 30th, the man was stopped by police in Sundsvall, northern Sweden, and 155,000 kronor ($21,435) worth of jewellery, make-up, and cash were discovered in his car. On top of this, the man is believed to have withdrawn 91,000 kronor from stolen bank cards.
Prosecutors told the paper that they're expecting a prison sentence for the man, who stands accused of aggravated theft and fraud.
“He has taken advantage of the victims given their old age. They have quite simply not dared to refuse in some instances, as they have believed he was a police officer,” said prosecutor Jonas Svanfeldt to the paper.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the man has been convicted for similar crimes before.
The 44-year-old has denied the charges.
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