Zimbabwean nurse aid robs Ireland pensioners

"LOCK them up for a long time because they are evil," were the words of one of six vulnerable pensioners preyed on by their former carer for Euro 34 000 in violent burglaries in Athlone, Co. Westmeath, Ireland last year.

Precious Moyo (38), was aided by a knife-armed college student, Yamen Alhamada, who claimed that he went along with her because she was "into black magic called juju, and he would be protected if he did what she said".

Moyo, originally from Zimbabwe, (and believed to be from Bulawayo), but who lived at the Athlone Accommodation Centre at Lissywollen, Athlone, Co. Westmeath, and 19-year-old Alhamada, from Syria but with an address at Warren Grove, Boyle, Co. Roscommon, recently pleaded guilty to burglary and aggravated burglary offences. Judge Keenan Johnson said the crimes were nasty and described the effects on the six elderly men and women, aged 73 to 89, as heartbreaking.

Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court heard that Moyo, a mother of two, had worked for a home help agency for a year, where she developed "intimate" knowledge about their households. Her accomplice Alhamada, who had come to Ireland with family to escape war in his country, completed the Leaving Certificate and got a place in college. However, he started abusing alcohol and drugs and helped Moyo after she was let go from an agency due to client complaints.

Moyo, who is pregnant, had her bail discontinued after the evidence was given in an emotionally-charged hearing. Neither defendant addressed the court before being remanded in custody pending sentencing in November.

Prosecuting counsel John Hayden said four of the incidents occurred in housing estates in Athlone and another at a house about five kilometres outside the town between June 14 and September 8 last year. Most of the money stolen was a funeral fund for two sisters. Judge Johnson said he could not express his horror at the pair's actions, and he praised the "massive" and "painstaking" Garda investigation that led to their arrest.

The probe involved harvesting crucial CCTV footage from various locations to track their movements around the town and analysing fingerprints and DNA. One piece of video footage showed Moyo holding wads of money in a shop.

Garda Detectives Niall Cogavin and Kenneth Nerney outlined the evidence against the pair. The court heard the victims were traumatised; three of them were attacked in their homes, and the former carer warned one, "We'll be back".

The first incident took place at the house of a woman aged 73. Moyo, wearing a high-vis top and Covid facemask, hung around her home for two hours before sneaking in and taking a handbag containing Euros 24,000. Moyo, who claims to have been a social worker before she came to Ireland in 2019, jogged to a taxi and went home.

The court heard Moyo "put the fear of God into her", that her victim constantly locks her house now and that her life changed dramatically. Her sister stated that she had to move in full-time because the victim was now "so afraid".

"This money was to be used for our funerals. My sister's heart and my own heart are now broken; now we are so worried as to how we will pay for our funerals." Just Euro 2,250 of the missing money was recovered.

A niece told the court the financial loss and psychological effects were huge. Her aunt, she said, was vulnerable but had a good quality of life before this, collecting her pension and going to the shops, but now "is effectively a prisoner in her own home".

On August 30, Moyo drove Alhamada to the house of another woman, aged 89, with advanced dementia. He knocked and told her he was looking for a missing person. She let him check the house, believing he was a Garda, but he stole her handbag, which contained over Euro 200 and bank cards. The youth fled and was picked up by Moyo.

The victim's son represented her in court. He provided an impact statement saying she already had money stolen by a carer, and this breach of trust added to her vulnerability and insecurity. Two days later, at 7pm, Moyo, wearing a wig, surgical gloves and mask, drove Alhamada in her Nissan Qashqai to the home of another former client.

In a hard hat and wearing a Covid face mask, the student tricked a 76-year-old widow into thinking he needed to check for a leak. He was let in, but a lodger disturbed him when he went upstairs, and he fled empty-handed.

The court heard that after losing her husband previously, that victim had cancer treatment and took in a lodger because she was lonely. The incident frightened her, leaving her constantly checking if anyone was at the door, and she got rid of her home carers. She said: "I've lost trust in people and am suspicious of people".

At around 5 am on September 2, they drove out of the town to the home of an 80-year-old man with mobility issues who lives alone. He awoke to the sound of glass breaking; Moyo had a wheel jack to smash their way in. The two intruders entered his bedroom and started shouting at him to hand over his money.

Detective Garda Cogavin said: "He was held by his arms by Yamen Alhamada, who pulled off his panic alarm from around his wrist. He was then pulled onto the ground and held down there."

He tried to get up, but Alhamada hit him with an unknown object, and he started bleeding heavily from his nose. The court heard Alhamada "pierced his arms a number of times with what he believed to have been a needle concealed in his glove".

Moyo and Alhamada stayed in the house for about 30 minutes "and went through my deceased wife's things". They left with Euro 200 from a wallet and also took some jewellery that had belonged to the pensioner's late wife; the court heard "her [Moyo's] last words were ‘we'll be back'".

The victim, who has COPD, needs to take 12 tablets a day and has balance problems. He was bleeding but managed to get next door to alert relatives, but due to his condition, it took a while to get there. Doorbell video footage showed him distraught and gasping as he said, "I've been broken into". Gardaí confirmed his home was ransacked, and there were "pools of blood on the bedroom floor".

Medical reports confirmed he had injuries, including large bruises, two cuts five to six centimetres long on his arms, and a nasal bridge wound. In his victim impact statement, he spoke about being "constantly afraid someone will break in" to the house he built 50 years ago to raise his family.

Since then, he has had a high-tech alarm system installed, but said "I don't know how to use it, and I set it off regularly, and my son and daughter arrive, and I feel bad for bringing them out". He implored the judge to "Lock them up for a long time because they are evil".

The final incident happened on September 8 when a man with dementia and his partner, both in their 80s, had Euro10,000 violently stolen by the two defendants who broke into their home in the town. Alhamada was armed with a five-inch flick knife and Moyo showed "intimate knowledge" of the layout of the house, the occupants and their possessions.

The teenager, disguised in a wig, mask and dress, grabbed the elderly woman by her throat and dragged her to the floor, resulting in a cut to the side of her ear as he shouted, "Where's the money?". Meanwhile, Moyo put her hand over the man's mouth, restricting his breathing, and directed the teenager to remove a wrist alarm from the woman.

In her impact statement, the senior citizen revealed that she and her partner lost trust, fearing it would happen again. The woman and her partner had since moved to separate nursing homes, she said, "and I miss him dearly".

Following the arrest, Alhamada confessed to Gardaí that he earned Eueo 2,500 from the crimes, which he spent on "weed" and a pellet gun. The court heard he earned a place in college in Athlone, but he had been abusing drink, cocaine and cannabis at the time.

He told the investigation team: "Precious Moyo was into black magic called juju, and he would protected if he did what she said." He said Moyo made him use the knife, and he was afraid of her. The court heard she had told him they would not get caught because she would have a dream about a dog if Gardaí were coming for them. In her interviews, Moyo "made no admissions".

One of the victims could come to court, with the rest represented by close family members who addressed the judge. Some wept, but they comforted each other in the public gallery at the end of the hearing and after delivering moving victim impact statements. However, the defendants showed no emotion and avoided looking in their direction.

The court heard that all the victims were clients of the same care agency. Moyo had worked there for a year and provided home help services to the victims from April to June 2023. Gardaí accepted that cannabis addict Alhamada was the "junior partner".

Judge Johnson described the crimes as horrific and nasty and said he could see their profound effect. He told the relatives to express his deepest sympathies to the five victims who could not come to the hearing. He added that he could not express his horror at what had happened to their loved ones.

Judge Johnson said the effects were heartbreaking and he added that the pair showed gross contempt and were an absolute disgrace. Probation reports on the duo, who had no prior convictions, have been requested for their sentence hearing.