New Zealander Julia DeLuney is accused of getting murdered her 79-year-old mom, Helen Gregory, after funneling her cash into crypto.
Based on a Tuesday report by Radio New Zealand, 53-year-old DeLuney is accused of killing her mom after stealing the cash that she stored hidden in her house. Gregory reportedly distrusted banks and as an alternative stored plastic packets hidden round the home.
When Gregory was hospitalized after a fall in September 2023, DeLuney and her husband allegedly stayed at her home. The elder’s pals instructed the court docket that upon her return, she discovered the house in a poor state and seen that cash was lacking.
Gregory’s pal, Cheryl Thomson, talked about that NZD $51,000 ($30,000) was gone. She added:
“She instructed me categorically, with none doubt, that the one one who knew that the cash was there was Julia.”
Thomson additionally mentioned that Gregory confided that when confronted, DeLuney — at present at house on electronically monitored bail — said that she had invested it in cryptocurrency. She famous that the quantity her daughter had invested was roughly NZD $45,000.
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The crypto rip-off
Gregory was discovered useless at her house in January 2024, two days after receiving an e-mail from her daughter claiming that her crypto funding resulted in important revenue equal to over NZD $160,000. DeLuney reportedly instructed her mom that she wanted over NZD $18,000 for withdrawal charges and tax liabilities to withdraw the income.
She requested her mom to cowl half of these bills. Nonetheless, consultants consulted by the court docket prompt that these charges weren’t actual and such lies constituted a typical a part of scams.
Gregory’s pal Elizabeth Askin mentioned that DeLuney promised to present her mom returns on her investments by November 2024. Then, later, she mentioned that she would share these earnings in April 2024.
Monetary analyst Eric Huang instructed the court docket that his evaluation of DeLuney’s monetary information confirmed she had spent greater than she earned within the 12 months main as much as her mom’s loss of life. His research discovered that between Jan. 1, 2023, and Jan. 25, 2024, she spent NZD $93,000 on crypto investments.
Huang added that in the identical interval, she acquired over NZD $55,000 from family and friends, primarily from her mom and father. By January 2024, DeLuney’s investments had been additionally almost NZD $41,000 within the purple.
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The homicide
Prosecutors accused DeLuney of killing her mom in her personal home, driving again house, and returning later along with her husband. She claims to have left her mom with minor accidents after she fell from the attic, solely to search out her mom’s house resembling a “warzone” on her return.
The reconstruction of the occasions means that DeLuney attacked her mom earlier than staging it to appear like she had fallen from the attic. Nonetheless, inconsistencies in her story led police to research the loss of life as manslaughter, somewhat than an accident.
Underneath cross-examination by defence lawyer Quentin Duff, Detective Sergeant Giulia Boffa mentioned police discovered inconsistencies in DeLuney’s account. He mentioned:
“There was info that was necessary that was lacking from the accounts that had been being offered round altering clothes and plenty of areas travelled to that we had been selecting up that we weren’t being instructed about.”
DeLuney reportedly modified garments a number of occasions that night. A sweep of the inside of Gregory’s house discovered blood on the partitions and ground, and clumps of hair within the hallway and bed room — particulars not in keeping with a fall from the attic.
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