Vincentian guilty of murder of UK pensioner facing life sentence
A Vincentian national living in the United Kingdom was found guilty of murdering a pensioner before stealing £13,000 from her bank account in a “massive spending spree” with his girlfriend.
Jurors were told that Xyaire Howard, 23, handcuffed and strangled Susan Hawkey, 71, in order to obtain her bank card PIN.
Ms Hawkey’s decomposing body was discovered 20 days later under a duvet in the living room of her home in Neasden, north-west London, jurors were told.
Her hands were taped and tied behind her back, her eyes were sealed shut, and a ligature was put around her neck.
According to the Old Bailey, Howard and his girlfriend Chelsea Grant, 28, who lived nearby, robbed Ms Hawkey many times before the murder in September.
The couple agreed to fraud by false representation in connection with their use of Ms Hawkey’s bank card, and Howard pled guilty to one of the crimes.
Following a trial, Howard was convicted guilty of murder, but Grant was found not guilty.
Grant was convicted of three charges of robbery and one count of attempting to rob the victim.
After a 13-and-a-half-hour deliberation, the jury convicted Howard of one count of robbery and attempted robbery.
The couple, from Press Road in Neasden, were remanded in custody to be sentenced on December 8 by Judge Judy Khan KC.
Previously, prosecutor Annabel Darlow KC told jurors that Ms Hawkey was a “ideal victim” and “easy pickings” for the accused last summer.
Ms Hawkey was described as a “highly vulnerable” elderly woman who lived alone with minimal touch with friends and family.
She was also a “creature of habit,” going to the same stores and Post Office to withdraw cash with her bank card.
Ms Hawkey deactivated her card after being robbed, but not before the defendants used it for a few tiny transactions, the court heard.
Jurors were told she was last seen alive on September 6, the same day the accused were seen walking to and from her home.
Ms Darlow stated that up until that moment, Ms Hawkey had demonstrated that she was “feisty, brave, and ready to stand up for herself” against the two predators.
Howard used her new bank card to withdraw £250 from a cash machine the next day.
Ms Darlow stated that Ms Hawkey had memorized her PIN number and would not have readily given it up unless threatened with violence.
“When the authorities discovered Susan Hawkey’s decomposing body, she was bound and blindfolded, with a ligature around her neck,” she added.
“For some reason, all of her underwear and lower clothing had been removed, and her upper clothing had been cut down the front.” A garment had been draped over her head, and her body had been hidden beneath a duvet.”
Ms Darlow further stated that a ligature around Ms Hawkey’s neck had been tightened to the point of breaking one of her neck bones.
According to the prosecutor, the defendants went on a “massive spending spree” over the next three weeks and “burned their way through almost £13,000” of her money in 146 transactions.
During travels to Westfield shopping centers in Shepherd’s Bush and Wembley, the pair purchased premium designer products such as perfume, a new television, portable speakers, telephones, clothes, shoes, sunglasses, watches, and purses.
Some of the money was withdrawn in cash, and both defendants used money transfer services to send money to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The victim’s bank account balance dropped from just than £16,000 to barely £3,434.03, jurors heard.
Ms Hawkey’s bank card was finally suspended on September 28 at the request of police, and the accused were apprehended at a bus stop.
Jurors were told Howard searched Google for “Barclays transaction limit,” and Grant searched for “can you smell a dead body from outside the house” and “is a dead body a very strong smell.”
Grant said that he did not walk into Ms Hawkey’s flat but did stand outside to search for a smell.
She claimed Howard told her he had imprisoned Ms Hawkey but had left her alive.
Howard was said to have bound Ms Hawkey’s hands with his own shoelaces and did not have them on when he went to an ATM.
Grant also stated that he had returned from the flat without his shoelaces, showered, and changed his clothes.
In his testimony, Howard admitted to tying Ms Hawkey’s hands in order to obtain her PIN, but claimed she was still alive when he departed.
