A 51 year old drug addict from Merseyside has been sentenced to 31 years in jail for burglary and murdering and raping a deeply religious and popular 80 year old woman.
Charles Stapleton pleaded guilty on 22 January to murdering his neighbour Teresa Wishart and stealing jewellery from her, including her wedding ring.
Yesterday at Liverpool Crown Court, at the start of his trial for raping Mrs Wishart, he pleaded guilty to this too. He admitted raping her after he’d broken into her home on Wednesday 18 October 2017.
Mrs Wishart was found dead at her home in Changford Road in Kirkby by her daughter around 11am on Thursday 19 October. Her daughter came each week to help her mother with her shopping.
Mrs Wishart was lying on the floor of the living room, with a pool of blood around her head and her clothing had been tampered with.
Her daughter realised she was dead and ran outside to get help. Her mother’s house had been ransacked, her jewellery boxes were empty and her handbag and purse had gone.
On the same day, Stapleton went to a local pawnbroker and pawned Mrs Wishart’s wedding ring, earrings and a watch.
Shortly after he’d pawned the items he contacted a friend who was also a drug addict and smoked two pipes of crack cocaine with him.
The friend told Stapleton that Mrs Wishart had been found dead and Stapleton said to him, “That was me.” But he later denied it.
The court heard that Stapleton lived in a house in Watts Close in Kirkby that backed onto Mrs Wishart’s garden. He had befriended her in the months leading up to the break-in, doing odd jobs for her.
He’d even promised to keep an eye out for her after one of her relatives said items of jewellery had gone missing from her home.
In the hours following her murder, several neighbours reported seeing Stapleton around Mrs Wishart’s house and behaving oddly.
When police officers questioned him about her death and the break-in, Stapleton denied any involvement at first but later pleaded guilty.
Angela Rowan, Senior Crown Prosecutor with Mersey-Cheshire Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Murdering an 80-year-old woman in her own home is a terrible, terrible crime. Selling her jewellery is dreadful too.
“But the fact that he also raped her is utterly, utterly appalling.
“Mrs Wishart was a law-abiding, devoutly religious, community spirited loving mother, who lost her husband many years ago.
“That her life should come to an end in this way is truly awful. Her close family have been devastated by this heinous crime and the Crown Prosecution Service extends sincere condolences to them.
“We can only hope that the successful conclusion of this tragic case helps in some way. Our thoughts remain with them at this dreadful time.”