A daughter flew 10,000 miles from Australia to confront the carer who stole £100,000 of jewellery from her paralysed mother, fulfilling a pledge she made at her deathbed.
Tracy Mellor, 62, faced David White, 35, at Bolton Crown Court after the live-in carer admitted theft by an employee. White, of Ridgeway House, Commercial Way, London, was jailed for four years.
Betrayal of trust
White stole the 82-year-old Elaine Macgregor's engagement ring and heirlooms handed down over generations, despite being treated 'like a son'. Facing him in court, Tracy said: 'I can stand here, look you in the face and tell you what your betrayal did to my mum. And Mum, I kept my promise.'
Elaine, a former headteacher at Tyldesley Central School, lived in Leigh, Greater Manchester, and died in December 2025 before the case was resolved. She suffered from corticobasal degeneration, a rare disease that damages brain cells and can severely affect movement and speech, leaving her quadriplegic and dependent on carers.
Exploiting vulnerability
White exploited her disability and her family's trust, stealing 62 pieces of jewellery. Speaking after the sentencing, Tracy said: 'David took full advantage of our trust – and pawned my inheritance.'
Tracy, who moved to Sydney, Australia, in 2008, described her mum as fiercely independent, with a love of biking and dinner parties. White arrived through a care agency as a live-in carer, initially restoring Elaine's social life with outings and holidays. When the agency dismissed him for what Tracy said was 'not following rules', the family employed him privately.
Discovery of the thefts
In March 2023, when White accompanied Elaine to Sydney, she repeatedly asked about her solitaire engagement ring, which she could no longer wear. He assured both women it was safely locked away in England. Tracy said: 'He kept saying it's in the safe. My mum was physically very disabled but, mentally, she was all there. He tried to make it look like mum was losing her mind. She could only whisper, but she kept saying 'ring, ring'. She absolutely loved that ring.'
After they returned to England, Tracy asked another carer to check the safe, beginning the discovery of the thefts. Elaine also told her daughter White had begun shouting at her and she was frightened of him. In May 2023, despite being able to speak only in a whisper, she told PC Alfie Kay what had happened.
In her statement, later read to the court by Tracy, Elaine said: 'I feel distraught that someone I trusted has stolen from me. I am especially upset about the stolen jewellery as this was gifted to me by my late husband.'
'I trusted David White; he saw me at my most vulnerable as I relied on him in every aspect of my life. We treated David as family, he has betrayed me and ruined my ability to trust others.'
Tracy promised her dying mum she would confront White – and finally did so in court. She said: 'It's very difficult to know if a carer is being honest. Sometimes, there's nothing you can do. The guilt and shame is terrible. In the end, we found a lovely carer who stayed until mum died, so there are some brilliant people out there. But how can you differentiate?'
