A deceitful couple, Graham and Lyn Walker, manipulated an elderly woman’s will in an effort to seize her £175,000 estate following her passing while she was residing at a care home. The Walkers, aged 74 and 71, utilized various colored pens and handwriting styles to fabricate a will for Rita Barnsley, an 85-year-old who had moved into Amberley Care Home in Dudley, West Midlands, in May 2020 but later fell ill.
Collaborating with the care home’s former manager, Jamiel Slaney-Summers, the trio conspired to claim the majority of the estate, consisting of a £150,000 house and £28,000 in savings. The scheme was exposed when Barnsley’s only living relative, her cousin Verna Woolley, raised suspicions and reported the matter.
The forged will, likely created in the summer of 2021 shortly after Barnsley’s death, was deemed fraudulent by Dudley Trading Standards, with inconsistent signatures designating Walker and Slaney-Summers as executors.
The fabricated will indicated that Barnsley was bequeathing her estate to Slaney-Summers “for the happiness and laughter she brought me,” highlighting their close friendship. Graham and Lyn Walker were sentenced to three years in prison at Wolverhampton Crown Court and were each fined £30,000.
Slaney-Summers, from Northfield, Birmingham, had previously received a five-and-a-half-year prison term for fraud alongside the Walkers. During sentencing, Judge John Butterfield KC criticized their actions, stating they acted out of greed rather than compassion or integrity.
It was revealed in court that the vulnerable Barnsley had moved into the care home in May 2020 when she fell ill. At that time, the Walkers owned the care home, while Slaney-Summers was its registered manager. Barnsley, who passed away in the summer of 2021, possessed significant assets, including bank account funds and property valued at over £150,000.
The final will, dated January 12, 2021, appointed Mrs. Walker and Slaney-Summers as executors, with Mrs. Walker receiving 25% of Barnsley’s estate, and Slaney-Summers inheriting 50%.
Furthermore, Slaney-Summers embezzled approximately £6,000 by making unauthorized withdrawals from Barnsley’s bank account using her card. In their defense, Henry Skudra stated that Slaney-Summers was the mastermind behind the operation, while the Walkers’ involvement was limited to later stages and did not include forging the will.
Fortunately, Barnsley was unaware of the deceit. The defendants, both with previously unblemished records, were portrayed as having their reputations tarnished by what was described as an opportunistic crime.
Amberley Care Home has since undergone a change in management.
