This is the shocking moment a woman confessed she stole £200,000 from her elderly uncle, rinsing him of his life’s savings.
Sacha Goulden from Biggleswade in Bedfordshire admitted she’d taken funds from Alan Haydon’s bank account to fuel her drug habit over an 18-month period.
She left 71-year-old Alan, who lives at Burlington Hall in Milton Keynes, with just £22 to his name, meaning he could no longer afford to stay at the care home.
Alan was left ‘close to tears’ after officers told him all his money had gone, saying all he’d wanted was to buy a new chair at his care home.
Sacha had initially denied any wrongdoing but soon began to confess after officers went through her bank statements.
In last night’s episode of 24 Hours In Police Custody on Channel 4, police revealed that Sacha had spent £13,500 in just one month – on holidays, beauty appointment and several mysterious – and expensive – ‘babysitting’ and ‘car repair’ costs.
But after further interrogation, detective sergeant Anne Ward and investigative officer Dave Brecknock made Sacha admit that the costs were actually purchases of Class A drugs.
In a shocking revelation show in the programme, Sacha confessed: ‘It is drugs. It was my summer of being single. It was very very handy.’
This is the shocking moment Sacha Goulden confessed she’d taken hundreds of thousands of pounds of her uncle’s money to fuel her drug habit
She left 71-year-old Alan (pictured), who lives at Burlington Hall, with just £22 to his name, meaning he could no longer afford to stay at the care home
Alan had sold his home for £365,000. After taking away the cost of his care home fees, he should have still had £212,000 remaining. But his bank account was empty.
When she was asked what her uncle would think after finding out the truth, she said: ‘He wouldn’t be happy about that. I got greedy, that’s basically the long and short of it.’
Sacha, a teaching assistant, said her mother and sister and passed away – ‘and then after that, it just kind of spiralled’.
Initially, when asked about having several bruises on her legs, Sacha said she’d been ‘scratching’ due to anxiety.
But officers had found a pouch of cocaine when searching her house, and became suspicious when she took a long time to go to the toilet.
Sacha said she’d picked up the drugs on ‘behalf of a friend’, who she refused to name. Sergeant Wade noted she’d been paying a person called ‘Mrs B’ for ‘babysitting’ and ‘car repairs’, regularly sending out £80 at a time.
When Sacha couldn’t give further details, she eventually admitted it was all down to drugs.
After further investigations, officers linked Sacha’s case to an undercover drugs gang acting throughout the charming market town of Biggleswade.
Detective sergeant Anne Ward and investigative officer Dave Brecknock made Sacha admit that the costs were actually purchases of Class A drugs (pictured confessing)
After further investigations, officers linked Sacha’s case to an undercover drugs gang acting throughout the charming market town of Biggleswade, led by Tyrone Baker (pictured)
Alan had been hoping to buy a new chair in his care home but was unable to after the ‘sickening’ theft
They searched the phones of Tyrone Baker, Oliver Hamilton and Declan Welch and discovered they’d been making a small fortune from selling drugs in the town with little competition.
This meant they had enough evidence to arrest the drugs gang.
’20 or 30 years ago, drugs were for the rich and famous, but now, it’s like Amazon prime,’ Baker’s lawyer said.
The programme demonstrated the unexpected and extensive impact that the drugs trade could have on ordinary people.
Alan didn’t realise he had online banking – meaning Sacha could exploit his funds as she liked.
‘I want to get some money back so I can get a new chair, I need a new chair,’ he told police.
He added despairingly: ‘I don’t want a lot out of life. It’s sickening. I don’t know what turned her.’
Sacha had initially denied any wrongdoing but soon began to confess after officers went through her bank statements
Police found cocaine when searching Sacha’s house and were suspicious of the bruises on her legs. Pictured: Detective sergeant Anne Ward and investigative officer Dave Brecknock
He said he and Sacha had always been close: she’d given him lifts from the airport, and they would go shopping and on days out together.
Emotionally, he confessed that he’d been planning to leave Sacha all his money in his will anyway, as she was his next of kin.
Following the police investigations shown in the programme, Sacha Goulden pleaded guilty to theft and possession of a controlled drug.
Alan lost his life savings but his care home arranged for him to stay on with them once he could no longer pay with his own money – tragically, he never bought the new armchair for his room.
Oliver Hamilton was sentenced to six years and two months for the drug offences, while Declan Welch received an 18 month community order and was required to do 150 hours of community service.
Tyrone Baker was found to be the head of the drug enterprise and was sentenced to nine years in prison for his drug offences.
The latest episode of 24 Hours In Police Custody is available to stream now on Channel 4.
