Ipswich: 7/7 Widow Jailed

19 January 2015, 12:38

The Ipswich widow of a 7/7 bombing victim has been jailed for two years and eight months after stealing £43,000 from her son's compensation.

Louise Gray, 42, spent £250,000 of her own compensation money before turning to her son Adam's fund, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

She admitted at a hearing last month to stealing the cash between July 2012 and November 2013.

Her husband, accountant Richard Gray, 41, was one of 52 people killed in the 2005 London bombings as he travelled to work.

Judge David Goodin told Gray: "The offence you have committed against your son, the trust you betrayed - a second hammer blow following the death of his father - is so serious it can only be met by a custodial sentence.''

The judge added: "The theft of £43,000 is one thing. The theft of #43,000 by a parent from a young adult's trust is quite another, when that sum represented most - practically all - the compensation he received for his father's tragic death.

"It's an act of wickedness almost beyond belief.

"He has lost not one parent, but two.''