A thieving careworker on the run may face justice in either the UK or her native Italy, York Crown Court heard.

Maira Liu, 51, stole a valuable watch from an elderly woman with dementia she was supposed to care for and look after. She then “obfuscated” and tried to thwart the court process against her with false documents and other means,  said the Recorder of York, Judge Sean Morris.  

He passed an 18-month jail sentence after a jury convicted the careworker of fraud by abuse of position and ordered her to pay £2,952 compensation to Margaret Johnson’s family and £850 prosecution costs.

Mrs Johnson died after her watch, which she had bought in the Caribbean when on holiday there, was stolen and before Liu’s trial.

Liu, 51, is believed to be living in Mignano, Provincia di Caserta, Italy. She fled to her native country after she was unmasked as the thief through the detective work of Mrs Johnson's son-in-law and ex-policeman David Beckwith. She was told of the sentencing hearing but did not attend.

Christopher Bevan, prosecuting, told the judge the CPS may seek an extradition warrant for Liu or they may try and arrange for her to serve the sentence in Italy.

Judge Morris told the court Liu had “obfuscated” and done her best to derail the court process against her. She had provided false documents, refused to provide evidence of the health problems she claimed prevented her from attending court and in the end the court had had to try her in her absence.

“This was a nasty offence of fraud,” he said. Liu had stolen and pawned the watch for £500 because she had wanted cash in the run-up to Christmas to buy presents and she had deliberately targeted Mrs Johnson because she knew the elderly woman was vulnerable.

“Those who are tasked with looking after elderly people who have become as we say in Yorkshire “younder” have a particularly high degree of trust because it is so easy to steal from them and deflect blame,” he said.

The jury at York Crown Court heard how Mrs Johnson always wore the watch but it was missing when her daughter and son-in-law came to collect her from the Harrogate care home where she was having respite care.

Liu and all other staff at the home said they knew nothing of its whereabouts, but Mr Beckwith checked with every jewellers in Harrogate until he found the one where Liu had pawned the watch.

Confronted with this, Liu then claimed Mrs Johnson had given her the watch as a gift, which would have been against both Mrs Johnson’s longstanding practice of not giving jewellery gifts and the home’s strict policy of staff not being allowed to accept gifts. After police got involved, Liu fled to Italy.