A TEENAGE girl from Harrow broke into her 97-year-old grandmother's home and stole the elderly woman's life savings as she slept.

The frail victim's adopted grand-daughter, 16-year-old Joanna Cremonini-Thomas, along with Alan Gray, 17, were given detention and training orders at a young offenders institution for what the judge called a “despicable and callous” burglary.

Due to the serious nature of the offence Judge Marie Catterson took the decision to allow the names of the two imprisoned defendants to be made public after an application by our court reporter to lift a banning order.

However, another 16-year-old girl from Pinner, who was given a community order and curfew for her part in the break-in, cannot be identified.

All three had pleaded guilty to burglary at a previous hearing at St Albans Crown Court and were warned they faced custody.

Just four days after her 16th birthday on the night of Friday, April 18, Cremonini-Thomas, of Kenton Road, Harrow; Gray, from Watford; the other teenager and at least one other that has not been apprehended, broke into the South Oxhey home of Hilda Thomas through a rear kitchen door.

They took £600 from a handbag in the living room and thousands more the elderly lady kept in a cupboard on top of the wardrobe in her bedroom.

When the unsuspecting victim woke early that morning she discovered a light had been left on downstairs and that the glass in her kitchen door was smashed and money missing from her purse. Otherwise everything was in order. However when police came around it became apparent her life savings were gone and she “collapsed”.

Suspicion soon fell on Cremonini-Thomas, who had been adopted by the victim's daughter, but just weeks before the burglary had gone back to live with her natural mother.

An envelope containing £800 was found under a mattress - where the girl was staying with the other two defendants - with her fingerprints on it.

The next door neighbour had seen all three hanging round the victim's house that afternoon, but despite being spotted they returned at 11.30 that night.

Each defendant implicated the other in their prepared statements, but declined to give evidence at a special hearing where the judge tried to get to the bottom of the case.

Judge Catterson said: “It is fortunate Mrs Thomas is hard of hearing and had taken her medication and was asleep and through that no confrontation occurred.

“But the discovery that her home had been invaded while she was asleep and the loss of her life savings clearly had a devastating effect on her.

“This was a deliberate burglary which targeted a very vulnerable 97-year-old victim and has the added unpleasant factor that the victim was part of a family that had taken you in and embraced you [Cremonini-Thomas] as one of their own.

“One struggles to describe this behaviour as anything other than despicable. This was a calculated, callous offence motivated by self-centred greed.”

Cremonini-Thomas admitted that more than £19,000 was taken, and that she had spent her £6,000 share on clothes.

In mitigation, the court heard she had gone into care as a young girl and self-harmed and suffered from depression. She had fresh “red painful cuts on her arms” the court was told by Jacques Howell, defending.

The teenager had been adopted but returned to live with her mother, but was now alone since a suicide attempt by her mother. The girl has been referred to a psychiatrist by her GP.

It was Cremonini-Thomas' first offence, however, Gray had cautions and a conviction for shop lifting.

He pleaded guilty to burglary, two bail charges and possession of a butter knife he kept to prevent him from being robbed.

He and the other defendant said there was much less than the £20,000 at the house and it was more like £1,800, of which he got £150.

He had been in foster care up to the age of five, before returning to his mother.

He had never seen his natural father, and moved out aged 16 because he did not get on with his “disciplinarian” step father.

Gray had been remanded in custody for 115 days, and now realised the enormity of what he had done, said Safara Syed, defending.

When Miss Syed said he had been “crying uncontrollably” the first day she saw him in custody Gray gave an embarrassed smile to his two female defendants sat in the dock each side of him.

The third defendant, who cannot be named, has never been in trouble before. She said she got nothing from the burglary and thought only around £900 was taken.

Judge Catterson imposed a four-month curfew with 12 months supervision by probation on her, due to extenuating circumstances, but warned the girl any breaches and she would find herself in custody. She wept openly as the sentence was passed.

Cremonini-Thomas received an 18-month detention and training order and Gray received a total sentence of 14 months detention and training.

Both will be released after serving half their sentences.