ADDICT WHO KILLED FRAIL OLD LADY GETS ONLY 5 YEARS

THE grieving husband of an elderly woman fatally injured when a heroin addicted bag-snatcher knocked her over says her killer got away with murder. Phillip James Flower was today sentenced to eight years' jail, with a minimum of five years, for the manslaughter and robbery of 77-year-old Beryl Bloomfield. Flower, 36, had pleaded guilty to knocking the elderly woman to the ground, fatally injuring her, as he stole her purse and the $4000 it contained. The attack occurred on April 28 last year in the Melbourne suburb of Croydon, and Mrs Bloomfield died a day later in hospital, devastating her husband of 57 years.

Walter Bloomfield, 90, who is bed-ridden with an illness, still lives in the marital home in suburban Mooroolbark. "It's certainly not appropriate, he murdered her," Mr Bloomfield said of the sentence. "It was premeditated because he must have known what would happen. "I'm not very happy about it, but what can I do?" Reflecting on his late wife, Mr Bloomfield also said: "She's the one that suffered through all of this." He said he was too ill to attend today's sentencing.

The Victorian Supreme Court had heard Flower, a heroin addict on the methadone program, came from behind and caused Mrs Bloomfield to fall and hit her head after he snatched her bag. The woman, whose frailty was noted today by Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth, suffered head injuries and she died the day after the incident in St Vincent's hospital.

Flower had said he needed the money to buy cigarettes and food for his children. Justice Hollingworth sentenced Flower to eight years' jail for manslaughter and 12 months' prison for robbery to be served concurrently. She ordered him to serve a non-parole period of five years. "I have no doubt that you targeted her because she was elderly, vulnerable and frail," Justice Hollingworth said. "Unfortunately, elderly people are all too often seen as an attractive and easy target by those intent on theft. "People must be deterred from robbing those members of the community who are most vulnerable, particularly in circumstances such as these where there is a very real risk that the victim may be hurt in the process."

Report here



(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today)