Teenager left his grandmother 'gasping for breath' by smothering her to steal £80

By Francesca Shanahan

PUBLISHED: 11:30 EST, 21 September 2012 | UPDATED: 11:46 EST, 21 September 2012

A teenager has been jailed under a rare 150-year-old offence after he tried to smother his great-grandmother so he could steal £80 from her.

Dion Groombridge, of Brighouse, West Yorkshire, was just 16 when he visited 92-year-old Margaret Stott at her home in Elland, West Yorkshire where he launched a 'chilling' attack which involved holding a cushion over her face before raiding her purse and stealing her cash.

He was sentenced to a five-year jail term with an additional five-year extended licence after admitting the little-known offence of attempting to choke, suffocate or strangle with the intent to commit theft - which was introduced under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act.

Guilty: Dion Groombridge (right) has been jailed for five years after launching a 'chilling' attack on his great-grandmother, 92-year-old Margaret Stott (left)

A court was told that when the frail great-grandmother was found by another family member she was 'gasping for breath' and 'slumped
against the sofa with her head tilted backwards.'

Jailing Groombridge, now 17, Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC told him that the offence of attempting to choke, suffocate or strangle with intent was of the upmost gravity.

'It has survived the passage of time in the Offences Against the Person Act
1861. The meaning and purpose of the offence was as clear and ringing then as it is now' he said.

'It is a thoroughly chilling offence when one contemplates it. You attempted to choke, suffocate or strangle your 92-year-old great-grandmother with the intent to commit another offence - namely to take from that poor lady her money.

'This was a gross breach of trust. You planned and targeted a very vulnerable victim. You went intent on taking money one way or another.

'This was in the lady’s own home, her refuge. She could have been left for some time. The consequences of this act are incalculable.'

Serious: Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC said the offence of attempting to choke, suffocate or strangle with intent was of the upmost gravity

Ken Green, prosecuting, told Bradford Crown Court that Groombridge asked a friend who he was staying with to drive him to his great-grandmother’s house on July 6.

When he arrived, Groombridge told his friend he would get some money from his elderly relative and use it to pay him towards his stay.

Around 40 minutes later Groombridge emerged from the house and gave his friend £60 from the £80 he took.

'His friend noticed that the defendant appeared agitated, frightened and distressed,' said Mr Green.

'He asked him if he was alright, to which the defendant replied ‘I’m fine, grandma had her heating on too high'.'

Ms Stott’s granddaughter, Amanda White, 42, arrived a short time later to find the victim 'slumped against her sofa with her head tilted backwards and her arms and legs spread.'

Mr Green said: 'She appeared to be breathing heavily, gasping and appeared to be disorientated.'

An ambulance was called to take her to hospital. A purse which Ms Stott used to pay her cleaner was empty as well as a handbag she kept behind her sofa with a 'float' of money.

The court heard Ms Stott told her granddaughter later at hospital that
Groombridge had visited her at home and 'throttled her.'

Mr Green said the victim had 'marks to her face, scratches to her neck,
collarbone and chin.'

The court heard that, when arrested, Groombridge admitted he had 'just put a pillow over her face for, like, two minutes' adding, 'I just walked out because I couldn’t do it.'

He described holding the cushion over her face, with his palms over his
great-grandmother’s face.

Dion Groombridge was told his crime represented a 'gross breach of trust' and was a 'thoroughly chilling offence'

Mr Green added: 'He said he was shocked at what he had done. He accepted and realised that if he had kept the pillow over her face any longer then he might have killed her.'

Stephen Ward, mitigating, told the court that he was sorry and was 'struggling to come to terms with what he had done.'

The court also heard that Ms Stott had gone from being a self-sufficient lady to consequently having a number of falls and has not been able to go back to living in her flat independently.

Judge Durham Hall said: 'Her life from that moment has been, in reality,
catastrophic for she has gone from an independently living lady of some
fortitude and character to someone who is dependent.'

General view: Dion Groombridge went to his grand-mother's house in Elland, West Yorkshire (pictured)

This sentiment was echoed by Ms Stott's granddaughter, who is the second cousin of jailed Dion Groombridge.

'I just felt sick and disgusted. How can somebody do that to a lady of that age, let alone their own great-grandmother?' she said.

'She refuses to talk about it. She can’t. Everything has been taken away from her by her own flesh and blood.

'She was so independent but she knows now that she can never go back to the flat that she loved and had lived in for more than 30 years.

She added: 'I’m happy with the sentence and feel that justice has been done. I just hope that he learns a thing or two whilst in prison and comes out a different person.'