A husband and dad-of-three turned his wife in to the police after he heard her talking about a crime in her sleep.
Antony Fort, from Birkenhead, awoke to hear his wife, Ruth, talking in December 2018, one month after the family had returned from a family holiday to Mexico where Ruth had been splashing the cash.
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Ruth, who works as a care worker, initially claimed her relatives had given her 'a thousand pounds spending money' for the trip, though Fort 'wasn't sure whether to believe her'.
The trip to Mexico came a few months after Ruth told her husband one day that she'd taken one of her care home residents out shopping. She said the woman, who was in a wheelchair, had £98,000 in her bank account – a revelation that led Fort to realise 'Ruth must have access to the card and pin number'.
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, he commented, 'Something in the way she spoke just made my heart sink... There was no more to it, but I began worrying, even though I had no reason to. It was an instinct.'
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Ruth took some time off work in December 2018 to deal with epilepsy, and it was shortly after this that Fort woke to hear Ruth 'mumbling about money'.
The husband spotted Ruth's purse on the floor and noted that a few notes had fallen out, but when he went to put them back he spotted the debit card belonging to the care home resident.
Fort said it 'all clicked in to place' in that moment, adding, 'I felt absolutely sickened. I couldn't believe it. When Ruth woke up, I confronted her, and she admitted everything. I told her to pack her bags and leave.'
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Though it was 'heartbreaking' for Fort, he knew he had no choice but to report her to the police, after which Ruth was arrested.
She appeared before Preston Crown Court in February 2021, when the court heard that she had preyed on the vulnerable woman over a two-month period.
Ruth admitted stealing £7,220 and received a suspended jail sentence of 16 months, with conditions including attending drug rehabilitation sessions, however she appeared before Liverpool Crown Court this month after failing to comply to the conditions.
According to the Echo, Ruth had twice failed to attend drug rehabilitation sessions and had also missed a meeting with her probation officer.
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She admitted to breaching her suspended sentence and the judge imposed a six-week curfew between 7am and 7pm, warning her that her jail term would likely be activated if she breached the orders or committed any other offences.
The judge at Liverpool Crown Court had praised Fort for coming forward about his wife, though the dad noted there was a 'revulsion' in his village when the case became public, saying, 'My family really suffered as a result.'
Fort met Ruth while he was studying at Liverpool University and the pair married in 2010. Fort has now said that the anger he previously felt towards his wife has 'subsided', adding that he wants to 'help her' as he believes the 'system has failed [them] so far'.
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Topics: UK News, Sex and Relationships, Crime
Emily Brown