Plucky pensioner who reported care home bosses tells jury of upsetting mistakes in her vulnerable cousin's 'fraudulent' will
The last living relative of a Black Country pensioner who left £145,000 to care home bosses has told a jury of the glaring and upsetting mistakes in a suspicious will document which led her to accusing them of fraud.
Rita Barnsley's only living relative Verna Woodley has given evidence in the trial of Amberley Care Home's former manager Jamiel Slaney-Summers and owners Graham and Lyn Walker.
Slaney-Summers, 65 and of Raven Hays Road, Northfield, is on trial accused of theft and abusing her position for financial gain after Mrs Barnsley's will was allegedly changed in favour of her and the home's owners.
Graham Walker, aged 74, and Lyn Walker, aged 71, both of Ribbesford Close, Cradley, are also accused of dishonestly abusing their position to make financial gain.
The trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court has entered its second week with witnesses taking the stand detailing how the trio allegedly defrauded the estate of Mrs Barnsley who signed a new will.
Allowed to give evidence from her living room due to her age and agoraphobia, the 86-year-old Ms Woodley explained Mrs Barnsley was only meant to stay at Amberley Care Home in Brierley Hill for a few months.
However, soon after Mrs Barnsley moved into the Stourbridge Road home in May 2020, despite Ms Woodley being her only living relative, staff allegedly stopped them speaking on the phone.
The court heard that manager Jamiel Slaney-Summers became the executor of Mrs Barnsley's £175.000 estate. In the six months before she died in August 2021, Slaney-Summers allegedly withdrew £6,000 cash from her bank accounts.
The prosecution say she also convinced two colleagues to sign a new will, giving her and the Walkers three quarters of the estate and awarding staff £5,000. As well as allegedly changing the financial wishes of their resident, the court heard they rode roughshod over her plans to be laid to rest in her beloved Black Country.
