Masked teenage burglars, 16 and 17, left great-grandmother, 82, lying on the floor of her home crying out for 'mummy' after heartless robbery - before she died two days later

Daily Mail​

09-05-2025

Two masked teenagers, who callously robbed a great-grandmother in her own home before leaving her alone for hours as she lay injured on the floor and crying out for 'mummy', have been locked up for two years in a youth detention centre.
Joy Middleditch, 82, died just days after she was discovered seriously injured inside her bungalow in Pakefield, Suffolk, by her family, having been left on the floor for 12 hours after she was burgled and robbed.
She was conscious and breathing, but found to have five broken ribs and bruising before dying in James Paget Hospital, Great Yarmouth on March 27, 2023.
Following the incident, it was found that her handbag, which contained a purse, had been removed from her bungalow.
The boys, now aged 17 and 16, were today sentenced to two years in a youth detention centre by District Judge Kenneth Sheraton.
He said: 'I have been sitting in magistrates' courts for many years, and I have no hesitation in saying this is one of the nastiest cases I have seen.'
The judge: 'Both boys would have seen the mobility frame by the back door and both boys would have been aware that this was an elderly lady.
'Both boys left the victim on the floor, knowing she had limited mobility, and she had been found some 12 hours later by her son and daughter-in-law after they could not get an answer on the phone.'
In addition to the two-year custodial sentence, the pair were ordered to pay a £41 court fee.
Each was convicted of burglary offences.
A trial held at Great Yarmouth Magistrates' Court last month heard that the 'terrified' Ms Middleditch was 'calling for her mother' on March 25, 2023.
She had yelled for the boys to leave her home as they left her on the floor, where she remained until she was discovered by her concerned family.
Prosecutor Hanna Llewelyn-Waters said that the pair, who can not be named for legal reasons, were wearing 'intimidating masks' to 'instill fear' into their victim.
She argued that both defendants, then 14 and 15, 'acted together' and had 'planned' to commit robbery, calling the elder boy's evidence 'nonsense'.
The younger boy refused to give evidence because, Ms Llewelyn-Waters said, 'he has no account to give that will stand up to scrutiny'.
Ms Llewelyn-Waters referenced text messages after the robbery, where the younger defendant had texted his girlfriend saying he needed to 'get rid of his clothes'.
The court was told he also texted his girlfriend, after learning that Ms Middleditch had died, saying that he 'will see her in 20 years' and that he 'would get rid of his phone'.
The prosecutor cited how moments before they entered the rear of Ms Middleditch's property, they had likely set a car alarm off on Foxglove Close, because CCTV captured them running at the moment it sounded.
Shortly after, Ms Llewelyn-Waters said the boys then made a 'beeline' to Grayson Avenue, where Mrs Middleditch lived.
The court heard how the pair had missed many homes there before stopping at 10 Grayson Avenue.
She said, considering the houses they walked past and where they stopped, it was 'inconceivable that they did not know the house was lived in by an elderly person'.
When they arrived at the home, they stopped for around a minute and then tried the gate to the rear of the property before climbing over it.
During the trial, District Judge Kenneth Sheraton heard evidence from the older defendant who claimed he was 'just following his friend'.
An extract from a police interview at the time of his arrest said: 'I followed to see what he was doing when he went around the back door to open it and went in.
'He opened the door, and there was a dog growling. It was only a little thing, so he just ran in.
'She was inside, and he pushed her into the table. He then grabbed her bag and ran back out. I shut the door and followed him.
'She was screaming, 'Get out of my house' and 'Mummy. '
The 17-year-old defendant added that the victim asked him to shut the door because she didn't want her dog to run away.
The older boy had gone to his friend's house in the early hours of that morning in question to 'get stoned,' and the boys shared a spliff before 'going for a walk'.
The court heard that the boys, later that morning, had travelled nearly two miles on foot when they arrived at Ms Middleditch's home.
When the sentencing was announced, the mothers of both boys burst into tears.
The older defendant asked if he could say goodbye to his mother, but his request was denied.
Following the hearing in April which saw the boys found guilty of robbery, the family of Ms Middleditch issued a statement which said: 'The network of persons affected by this does not just end with us.
'Joy was a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister to several siblings, an aunt and a close friend to many.
'She was worth more than to be a victim of cruel, thoughtless criminals.'