Two sisters whose mother went from being their best friend to stealing their £50,000 inheritance say they have been left feeling anxious and unable to trust anyone.
Katherine Hill, 53, from Alltwen in Pontardawe, Neath Port Talbot, and her 93-year-old father Gerald Hill from Fairwood in Swansea were found guilty of fraud by abuse of power after a trial last year.
They were sentenced to 30 months in prison and a 12-month sentence, suspended for 18 months, respectively. On Monday, [Katherine]Hill was ordered to repay the money, which was left to her daughters Gemma and Jessica Thomas by their grandmother Margaret Hill.
"I'll never have a relationship with my mother now," said Jessica.
Swansea Crown Court previously heard, due to inflation, the sum stolen by the "greedy and spiteful" Hills was now worth about £65,000.
Katherine Hill put the money in an instant access Barclays Everyday Saver account, despite being advised not to, and both she and her dad had cards to access it – draining the contents within a year.
Between March 2016 and March 2017, the account where the money was held was emptied in 10 withdrawals, with £35,000 withdrawn in three transactions alone, the court heard.
Gemma and Jessica grew up in Neath Port Talbot with their parents, and said Hill was a "good mother".
"She was like my best friend," said Gemma, now 26, adding "no-one saw this coming."
She said Hill did not have a good relationship with her own mother Margaret Hill – who split from her father when Hill was a teenager – though the girls did not know why.
