Social worker pretended dead mother ‘was in the garden’ for a YEAR so he could inherit her estate
February 11th, 2011A social worker who hid his mother’s death from her family as he tried to change her will has been branded a ‘disgrace’.
Kenneth Mould concealed his mother Evelyn’s death for over a year and deceived family members by telling them she was ‘in the garden’ when they called for her.
His lies were uncovered when Evelyn’s brother William Wandless became so concerned he called social services to check.
Mr Wandless, 71, of Whickham, Gateshead, spoke out after the pensioner’s son was struck off from ever doing social work again.
After being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2004, Evelyn’s health deteriorated before she left her home of four decades in North Shields, North Tyneside, to live with her son, Kenneth, in Surrey.
Prior to her death, relatives said that she had become extremely forgetful, losing her keys and leaving food to burn on the hob, and often insisted her dead husband was alive and upstairs.
Mould took advantage of the 86-year-old’s severe mental impairment and forced her to replace her will with a new document which made him the sole beneficiary.
She died in February 2007, but in the 12 months that followed, Mould did not tell the family of his mother’s death, writing emails and taking calls in which he claimed she was alive and well.
Last night, Mr Wandless spoke of the moment he discovered his sister was dead and the heartache of not having the opportunity to attend her funeral.
The 71-year-old, of Whickham, Gateshead, said: ‘I will never forgive him. It is a disgrace and I want everyone to know what he did. I have never been to her funeral and I do not even know where my sister is buried.
‘She was a lovely woman and it’s awful that he took advantage of her when she needed him the most. I never want to speak to him again. We have never had the chance to have a funeral and that makes me so angry.’
Mould convinced his neighbours to sign as witnesses after he changed his mother’s will to ensure he inherited her house and estate. But in statements read out during the hearing, they said she ‘quite obviously’ did not realise she was signing a will.
Mould, of Surbiton, Surrey, had been desperately trying to get hold of her assets, the hearing was told. When he realised the will would not withstand scrutiny, he declared her intestate, meaning that she died without executing a valid will.
Mr Wandless, whose wife Muriel died last year after battling cancer, said: ‘Two police officers arrived from Surrey and told me. I was shocked and devastated when I found out. I had contacted social services because I wanted them to go and visit her and make sure she was OK.
Change of plan: Mould tried to get hold of his mother’s assets but when he realised the will would not withstand scrutiny, he declared her intestate
‘It’s hard because the Crown Prosecution Service and police decided there was not enough evidence to charge or prosecute him. It’s very difficult and it’s made worse because my wife never got to see justice done.’
Last December, Mould accepted voluntary redundancy from Merton Borough Council’s social services department, where he had worked with the elderly, after they learned of his deceit.
The striking off order imposed on Monday is permanent and makes it illegal for Mould to be employed as a social worker anywhere in the UK.
Mr Wandless said: ‘No one knew about her death. We rang every fortnight to speak to her and that continued until after Christmas 2006 and then that became difficult, I couldn’t speak to her.
‘After a while, my wife spoke to Kenneth in emails and in these he used to say: “Yeah, she’s all right” and “She’s in the garden”. He told us she was still healthy and still alive.
‘We used to ring the house, but could never get any answer and in October or November I rang him at work and I told him I was going to go down to London to see my sister.
‘Kenneth told me she wasn’t at home and she was in Somerset. I said: “That’s fine, I’ll go to London and then to Somerset, I want to see her”.
‘He put the phone down. After Christmas I wrote to social services in Surrey asking them to visit my sister because I was worried about her.
‘Shortly after that, a policeman came to the door and he said: “I’ve got bad news, your sister’s dead.” I said: “What, she’s just died,” and he said: “No, a year ago.”‘
