THIS is the moment the life of crime of a callous thief who preyed on pensioners was stopped in its tracks. 

Thanks to the determination of one of her victims Gwendolyn Lanius has been caught out after befriending vulnerable people and gaining their trust before stealing from them.

The savvy 83-year-old Uckfield woman caught her in the act after installing CCTV cameras in her home.

The footage revealed Lanius going into her house while she was out, searching cupboards, drawers and her bed before making off with cash and house keys.

Police pieced together the 61-year-old thief’s movements over a number of years to discover she was behind a spate of thefts – stealing thousands of pounds over a number of years.

Lanius preyed on a 69-year-old Uckfield man in 2013. He became suspicious money was going missing from his wallet when she visited. Sadly the victim died two weeks before the thief admitted stealing £80 from him, police said.

Between April and August 2009 she worked for another family near Uckfield, caring for a terminally ill woman. After the woman died more than £3,500 was found missing from the family’s safe.

Officers then discovered Lanius crept onto wards and stole money from patients and their visitors when she worked as a healthcare assistant for East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust at Uckfield Hospital.

She stole £175 from the handbag of an elderly woman visiting her sister at the hospital in May 2010, attempted to steal money from the handbag of a woman visiting her terminally ill mother in June 2010 and stole £40 from the handbag of an elderly woman who was visiting her terminally ill husband in October 2010.

The Argus:

She was dismissed from her post – which she also held at Eastbourne District General Hospital - by the trust in February 2012.

Lanius, of Regency Close, Uckfield, initially denied all the offences when interviewed by police, but later pleaded guilty to one count of burglary, five counts of theft and one attempted theft at Hove Crown Court.

She was released on bail and will be sentenced on June 19. Judge Anthony Niblett warned her to expect jail.

 

 

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Detective constable Annie Nash, Sussex Police's priority crime unit, said: "Lanius would befriend her victims by manipulating their trust in her in order to commit her crimes.
"The impact this subsequent breach of trust had on the people involved is insurmountable. These despicable crimes have been committed against people who were at their most vulnerable with no thought as to the emotional damage that she has caused, in addition to the actual thefts themselves.” 
Detective sergeant Julie Dow said: "DC Nash was tenacious in her pursuit of this predatory woman. I hope the conviction will bring some comfort to the victims and their families that justice has been done."