Susanne Hinte, 48, leaving Birmingham Magistrates court this afternoon after being charged with two counts of dwelling theft
A grandmother who lodged a failed claim for a £32 million Lotto prize stole an Xbox controller belonging to a man she met through a dating app, a court has heard.
Susanne Hinte, from Worcester, is also accused of stealing a purse from the home of an elderly Good Samaritan who helped to find her other alleged victim's home, magistrates in Birmingham were told.
Hinte, whose ticket for a record-breaking Lotto draw in January was said to have been damaged in a washing machine, denies committing two counts of theft on January 3 and 4 last year after driving to Birmingham.
Opening the case against Hinte, who is aged 48, prosecutor Muhammad Awan alleged that she stole a purse containing debit and credit cards, as well as £55 in cash from the home of a 73-year-old woman.
Mr Awan told magistrates that Hinte called at the door of pensioner Susan Kirby's bungalow in a Birmingham suburb on the evening of January 3.
The prosecutor said of Hinte: 'She explained that she was lost and that she was trying to get to a male friend's address.
'The defendant then explained to Mrs Kirby that her mobile phone battery had died.'
The court heard that the homeowner's phone charger failed to fit Hinte's mobile, and she placed her Sim card into the pensioner's handset to make contact with 'blind date' Glen Gregory.
Explaining what is alleged to have happened inside Mrs Kirby's house, Mr Awan added: 'By this stage the complainant has invited the defendant into her property.
'Whilst in the kitchen the woman then speaks to Mr Gregory - the second complainant - in order to get his full address.'
After Mrs Kirby had obtained an address for Mr Gregory, written it down and handed it to Hinte, she is alleged to have hugged and kissed the pensioner in apparent gratitude.
Hinte then left the woman's home, Mr Awan added, and the victim noticed that her purse was missing from a kitchen work surface and rang the police.
Mrs Kirby told the court Hinte gave her a hug and a kiss before leaving her home with the purse.
She said: 'My husband was in his den where he watches telly. It was about 11pm and there was a knock at the door.
'I looked out and saw a woman in distress. She was waving her arms and acting as though she needed help.
'I didn't know her but I thought she was in some sort of trouble so I opened the door.
'She asked me if she could borrow a lead for the mobile phone to charge it up because she was meeting a guy and it had gone dead.
'I invited her in and we went into the kitchen at the front of my bungalow. I went to the kitchen drawer where I keep my charger, she said my lead was no good for her phone because mine was a Samsung.
'So she opened her phone and mine and did something and was able to get through to the guy she was meeting.
Hinte, whose ticket for a record-breaking Lotto draw in January was said to have been damaged in a washing machine, denies committing two counts of theft on January 3 and 4 last year after driving to Birmingham
'I don't know the man she was speaking to. She asked me to speak to him, she didn't understand the directions and I come from that area. I knew where he lived. It was about a mile from me.
'It was 11 at night and she was going on a blind date which I thought was a bit strange.
'I wrote the details down and handed it to her.
'As I was writing she stood a little behind me and I saw her make a darting movement out of the corner of my left eye.
'I thought she had gone over on her heel but I later realised she had gone for my purse.
'She was about a foot behind me when I saw a sharp movement, but I was too busy writing the address down to say anything.
'Then she gave me a big hug and a kiss. I showed her to the door and she drove off.
'As soon as I closed the door I just knew, my purse. I just had a gut instinct. Then when I checked I noticed it was gone.
'She would have been a metre away from the work surface where the purse was and she could've just stretched out her arm to take it.
'I told my husband and immediately called the bank to cancel my cards then I reported it to the police.
'I felt pretty stupid at the time. I thought I was trying to do someone a good turn and I felt upset but then I thought it was my own fault and blamed myself for letting her in.
'I'm 100 per cent sure she took my purse because I'm a creature of habit and I know I'd left it there.
'I believe she made a grab for my purse when she made that movement. She did it and I didn't imagine it.'
The court heard that after leaving Mrs Kirby's home Hinte then went to Mr Gregory's home in Chelmsley Wood, Solihull, West Mids.
Mr Gregory said he and Hinte had exchanged texts via a dating app for a few weeks before she met him at his home.
He said: 'She told me her name was Sabine.
'She kept disappearing and reappearing. We'd text and chat and we planned to meet in town that night. But it got late and she said she'd come over to my flat.
Opening the case prosecutor Muhammad Awan alleged that she stole a purse containing debit and credit cards, as well as £55 in cash from the home of a 73-year-old woman
'I gave my address and directions to the woman she was with (Mrs Kirby). She asked me: 'are you going to look after this young lady?'
'I said 'yeah' then Susanne got to mine at about 11.30.
'She seemed relaxed, calm. We sat down and had a cup of tea and a chat. I can't remember whose idea it was for her to stay over.
'The next morning we talked about the console. She offered me 50 quid for it along with all the games and the controller. I said no.
'She offered me 60, 70, 80 quid, I said I wanted to keep it. She was keen. She said it was for her grandkids.
'The conversation lasted about five minutes and she left at about 11.15 - 30 minutes later.
'I had two Xbox controllers and one of them was on view at the time.
'We never arranged to meet again. My 11-year-old daughter is the only other person who has been in my flat since Susanne came round.
'I only realised it was gone when the police came round and asked me how I knew her. I showed them pictures from the site. I hadn't been playing it so I only noticed when I checked.
'I'm not 100 per cent certain Susanne has had it (the controller) because my daughter might have had it and I'm being honest. I'm 50/50 on it. I told the police that when they phoned me up.'
Mr Gregory, whose age was not given to the court, told magistrates he gave £10 to Hinte to cover petrol money as she left his home in Chelmsley Wood, and only noticed the wireless Xbox controller was missing after being contacted by police who had spoken to Mrs Kirby.
Hinte, of Warndon, was first interviewed by police in early February last year when she accepted being at both addresses but denied stealing anything from either property.
Prosecutor Muhammad Awan made an application to the court to treat Mr Gregory as a hostile witness and the case was adjourned.
Bailing Hinte until April 13, chairman of the bench Ellis Carlton said: 'It's most unfortunate this is the situation we are faced with. It's certainly not satisfactory.'
Sad but true. I guess these cases are the aftermath of her lottery fever. Folks go crazy about money. She went napoleon, and what for? She would better try luck in lotto again, thelotter review Even though it too unlikely still a legal way to get rich.
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