Neasden: Couple killed pensioner for money, court hears

A couple tied up, stripped and strangled a pensioner before looting £13,000 from her bank account and going on a "massive spending spree", the Old Bailey has heard.

Chelsea Grant, 28, and Xyaire Howard, 23, were motivated by greed when they attacked Ms Hawkey to obtain her bank card Pin number, jurors were told.

The pair deny murdering Ms Hawkey, who was killed last September.

Her decomposing body was discovered under a duvet 20 days after her death.

Jurors were told Ms Hawkey was found dead in the living room of her home in Neasden, north-west London.

She had been tied up, with her hands taped and tied behind her back, her eyes had been taped shut and a ligature knotted around her neck.

Opening the prosecution case, Annabel Darlow KC said the defendants had identified Ms Hawkey as an "ideal victim" she lived an isolated life and was a "creature of habit".

She would take the same route to the shops and the post office to withdraw cash, and the defendants first mugged her on 27 July and then again on 22 August, jurors heard.

They later let themselves into her home with her stolen keys and pinned her down in a chair while Ms Hawkey tried to fight back, the court heard.

She was last seen alive on 6 September, the same day the defendants were seen walking to and from her home, the jury was told.

Ms Darlow said: "When Susan Hawkey's decomposing corpse was found by the authorities, she was bound and blindfolded, and a ligature was around her neck.

"For some reason, all of her lower clothing, including underwear, had been removed and her upper clothing had been cut down the front."

During their spending spree, the couple spent thousands of pounds on luxury goods, the Old Bailey was told.

Both defendants also allegedly sent money to St Vincent and the Grenadines, with the victim's bank account going from a balance of more than £16,000 to £3,434.03.

The court also heard that Mr Howard searched Google for "Barclays transaction limit" and Ms Grant typed in the search phrases "can you smell a dead body from outside the house" and "is a dead body a very strong smell".

The couple, from Press Road in Neasden, deny murder and robbery charges, although Mr Howard has admitted a charge in relation to the robbery on 22 August.

Both defendants have pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation in relation to their misuse of Ms Hawkey's bank card.

The trial was adjourned until Wednesday.