A woman “sunk to rock bottom” when she threatened pensioners with violence and stole money from them, her own lawyer has said.
Marianne Downie barged into her elderly victims’ homes in Fraserburgh and made terrifying threats of violence against them before stealing their cash.
The 28-year-old sighed and shook her head in the dock as shocking details of her crime spree were read out at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
Downie’s defence agent claimed that his client was “in a particularly dark place” when she preyed on vulnerable people, two of whom were aged in their 80s.
She previously pled guilty to a total of nine charges and has now been handed a lengthy prison sentence.
‘She sunk to rock bottom’
The court had heard that, on one occasion, a woman was waiting for an ambulance to arrive when Downie seized her chance and grabbed £200 from the lady’s handbag.
She also targeted an 82-year-old man twice in a matter of months, ripping off his emergency bracelet to stop him from calling for help.
Defence agent Stuart Flowerdew accepted the offences were “reprehensible” and described Downie becoming emotional when going through the evidence with him.
He said: “She was quite upset and said to me she really didn’t want to be that type of person.
“That comment is not the sort of comment I’ve heard from Ms Downie before.
“She recognises that, in committing these offences, she has pretty much sunk to rock bottom.
“She was in a particularly dark place at the time the offences were committed.”
Drug-free for the first time in 12 years
Mr Flowerdew explained Downie had led a “perfectly stable, normal life” up until the age of 11 when her mother died suddenly and her father turned to drugs.
He said she had appeared in court drug-free for the first time in 12 years and had no wish to return to her previous lifestyle.
Sheriff Andrew Miller told Downie the offences were “very concerning”, adding: “I’m satisfied only a significant period of imprisonment would represent an adequate response from the court to these offences”.
He sentenced Downie to a total of 39 months in prison with a nine-month supervised release order.
For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen as well as crime and breaking incidents, join our Facebook group.
