Will row man repays £310k
An allegation of theft against the executor of a will has been dropped after he agreed to return the £310,000 plus interest he was accused of stealing from a dead man's estate.
Lesley Cook, aged 59, was trusted with managing John Dines' estate following his death from cancer in April last year.
The money was given to Mr Cook for safe keeping by his one-time friend and had been intended to be handed over to Mr Dines' three children, one of whom lives in Northampton.
But upon his death, Mr Cook claimed the money was given to him as a gift and refused to hand it over, before leaving the country for Thailand.
The defendant, of Bramshill Road, Chandlers Ford, in Hampshire, was charged with theft, allegedly committed between May and December 2008 and pleaded not guilty to the single allegation in December.
The case was then adjourned for a trial but not until the legal arguments had been resolved.
Judge Richard Bray was asked to decide whether Mr Dine's statement, taken in the weeks before he died, could be used as hearsay evidence against Mr Cook, detailing Mr Dines' wishes about who should have received the money. His statement could have been ruled inadmissible as evidence in the trial.
The judge said the statement could be submitted but Mr Cook agreed last month to repay the money.
At Northampton Crown Court, he agreed to sign a consent order for the money to be transferred to the Dines family's solicitors.
The money had been left in three of his bank accounts which were made the subject of restraint orders once the initial allegation first came to light. He has now paid back the 310,095, plus 6,960 interest, and the Crown Prosecution Service has dropped the theft charge against him.
Alex Bull, prosecuting, told Recorder Alistair Wright yesterday that no evidence was now being offered against Mr Cook.
He said: "As I understand it, there was to be a repayment of the full amount.
"The only issue is whether to offer no evidence or for the charge to lie on file."
Miss Bull previously told the court: "The monies total 317,931 and will be transferred from those accounts to the accounts of the family's solicitors.
"It can then be transferred to the executors and transferred in the proper way.
"These solicitors will then inform the Crown and the court and the restraint order can then be discharged."
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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