New Zealand woman accused of killing mother after stealing cash for crypto

8 hours ago

New Zealander Julia DeLuney is accused of having murdered her 79-year-old mother, Helen Gregory, aft funneling her wealth into crypto.

According to a Tuesday report by Radio New Zealand, 53-year-old DeLuney is accused of sidesplitting her parent aft stealing the wealth that she kept hidden successful her home. Gregory reportedly distrusted banks and alternatively kept integrative packets hidden astir the house.

When Gregory was hospitalized aft a autumn successful September 2023, DeLuney and her hubby allegedly stayed astatine her house. The elder’s friends told the tribunal that upon her return, she recovered the location successful a mediocre authorities and noticed that wealth was missing.

Gregory’s friend, Cheryl Thomson, mentioned that NZD $51,000 ($30,000) was gone. She added:

"She told maine categorically, without immoderate doubt, that the lone idiosyncratic who knew that the wealth was determination was Julia."

Thomson besides said that Gregory confided that erstwhile confronted, DeLuney — presently astatine location connected electronically monitored bail — stated that she had invested it successful cryptocurrency. She noted that the magnitude her girl had invested was astir NZD $45,000.

The crypto scam

Gregory was recovered dormant astatine her location successful January 2024, 2 days aft receiving an email from her girl claiming that her crypto concern resulted successful important nett equivalent to implicit NZD $160,000. DeLuney reportedly told her parent that she needed implicit NZD $18,000 for withdrawal fees and taxation liabilities to retreat the profits.

She asked her parent to screen fractional of those expenses. Still, experts consulted by the tribunal suggested that those fees were not existent and specified lies constituted a communal portion of scams.

Gregory’s person Elizabeth Askin said that DeLuney promised to springiness her parent returns connected her investments by November 2024. Then, later, she said that she would stock those net successful April 2024.

Financial expert Eric Huang told the tribunal that his investigation of DeLuney's fiscal records showed she had spent much than she earned successful the twelvemonth starring up to her mother’s death. His survey recovered that betwixt Jan. 1, 2023, and Jan. 25, 2024, she spent NZD $93,000 connected crypto investments.

Huang added that during the aforesaid period, she received implicit NZD $55,000 from friends and family, chiefly from her parent and father. By January 2024, DeLuney's investments were besides astir NZD $41,000 successful the red.

The murder

Prosecutors accused DeLuney of sidesplitting her parent successful her ain house, driving backmost home, and returning aboriginal with her husband. She claims to person near her parent with insignificant injuries aft she fell from the attic, lone to find her mother’s location resembling a “warzone” connected her return.

The reconstruction of the events suggests that DeLuney attacked her parent before staging it to look similar she had fallen from the attic. Still, inconsistencies successful her communicative led constabulary to analyse the decease arsenic manslaughter, alternatively than an accident.

Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Quentin Duff, Detective Sergeant Giulia Boffa said constabulary recovered inconsistencies successful DeLuney’s account. He said:

"There was accusation that was important that was missing from the accounts that were being provided astir changing covering and a fig of areas travelled to that we were picking up that we were not being told about."

DeLuney reportedly changed apparel aggregate times that evening. A expanse of the interior of Gregory’s location recovered humor connected the walls and floor, and clumps of hairsbreadth successful the hallway and chamber — details not accordant with a autumn from the attic.

Magazine: Older investors are risking everything for a crypto-funded retirement

View source