Files being prepared after burglary at home of widow who had stroke
Files are being prepared for the DPP after two men were charged with a burglary at the home of an 81-year-old widow who was recovering from a stroke.
Kevin Coade (40) and Martin Twomey (37) both with addresses in Friar's Walk, Cork were charged at Cork District Court last week in connection with an incident in their area on July 25.
The two men were charged with burglary at the house in Friar's Walk. Mr Coade was also charged with a having a crowbar with the intention of intimidating another person and capable of inflicting serious injury contrary to section 11 of the Offensive Weapons Act.
At Cork District Court this morning, Inspector Gary McPolin said gardaí were seeking another remand in custody in the case.
Judge Timothy Lucey agreed to remand Mr Coade in custody until his next court appearance on September 7. Mr Twomey was further remanded in custody until he appears in court on August 24. The court previously heard that neither accused made any reply when charged.
Det Garda Gordon Crowley said in an earlier hearing of the case that at around 9pm on July 25, a widow in her 80s left her home to go for a walk as part of her post-stroke rehab regime. She was joined on the walk by a pensioner in her mid-70s. The pair are neighbours.
When they returned to the house after about a half an hour they saw two men in the hallway of the widow's house. The men fled the scene.
The neighbour in her seventies followed the men for a distance. She also called on three men nearby to come to her assistance. As the men confronted the thieves on the footpath one of the men dropped a bag while the other ran away.
Gardaí have examined CCTV footage from the area and they have also taken independent witness statements. Gardaí say that the health of the widow has gone downhill since the incident.
