Trial of thieving domestic helper who allegedly exploited dementia

Although the defendant had been working as a domestic helper for the wealthy couple living on Linz’s Froschberg since 2017, the 41-year-old Polish woman only began secretly withdrawing money from two accounts using ATM cards in October 2021, the prosecutor said in her opening statement.

In about a year, the accused is said to have stolen 68,000 euros through 59 withdrawals. Since mid-2021, the condition of the man she worked for has deteriorated increasingly. He was no longer mobile, his dementia was getting worse. After a fall, he was permanently confused and could no longer leave the house.

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When the old man (born in 1942) was transferred to the Neuromed Campus at the end of 2022, his son was appointed as the adult representative. He then noticed the debits and filed a complaint, said the prosecutor.

“The couple’s trust was simply exploited”

“She simply took advantage of the couple’s trustfulness.” Both he and she had blindly trusted the Polish assistant “Bernie”. She knew everything about the house and the household and also knew where the documents with the PIN codes were.

The defendant pleaded “not guilty” and said that she had always been commissioned to withdraw money by either the man or the woman.

She claims not to have known the four-digit codes for the two ATM cards. The old people always gave her a piece of paper with the PIN on it, so she could withdraw cash. And in the end she gave the money and the piece of paper back to her employers, and it was “torn up” and she “didn’t remember” the codes…

A verdict is expected on Tuesday afternoon. The Polish woman could face up to five years in prison.