Woman jailed for pretending to raise money for four-year-old girl's funeral so she could buy drugs
Hannah Price 'preyed on people's emotions' following the death of Amelia Brooke Harris
A woman who pretended to raise money for the funeral of a four-year-old girl before using it to buy drugs has been jailed.
Hannah Price, 25, posed as a family friend so she could take advantage of public sympathy following the death of Amelia Brooke Harris in Trealaw, near Tonypandy in south Wales.
Price went into pubs, betting shops and businesses in nearby communities and used a black book and clipboard to record the donations in an effort to look legitimate.
She also used the ruse to get access to a home and steal a wallet.
The heroin user spent the proceeds of up to £50 to fund her habit but was arrested after being reported to police by suspicious members of the public.
Prosecutor Rachel Knight told Merthyr Crown Court: “Price said she was ‘clucking’ and would do anything to get drugs.”
Price, from Treorchy, had pleaded guilty four counts of fraud, one count of attempted fraud and one of burglary.
Judge Richard Twomlow described the fraud as “disgrace” as he sentenced Price to three months in jail.
He told Price: “You claimed to be a friend of a family who lost a very young child. Feelings in the community were high and you took advantage of that. The way you preyed on people’s emotions is disgraceful. It’s hard to imagine a more callous fraud than this.”
Mani Ranauta of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said: “Price took advantage of the tragic circumstances surrounding the death of a young child in order to fuel her drug addiction.
“Her actions were callous and calculated. She also took advantage of the same situation to gain access to someone’s home, stealing while pretending to do a good deed. The support of the local community allowed the CPS to build a strong case against Price, resulting in guilty pleas to these crimes.”
Amelia Brooke Harris was found dead at a property in Trealaw, near Tonypandy on June 8 this year.
Her mother, Carly Ann Harris, has been charged with murder and will stand trial in December.
Press Association