Dying man who tried to rob 95-year-old woman jailed

An 81-year-old man with terminal cancer who strangled a 95-year-old woman during an attempted robbery he plotted in a bid to leave money to his family has been jailed.

Edwin Morrison went into his victim's home in Little Hulton in Salford, Greater Manchester, on 27 January, before tying her up and demanding cash.

A court later heard he gained entry on the pretence of wanting to discuss the woman's bin collection date, and was only stopped by the surprise arrival of her hairdresser.

Morrison, a retired pharmacy courier from Worsley, who pleaded guilty to attempted robbery, was jailed for seven years at Manchester Crown Court.

Judge Peter Horgan told him: "You had identified a vulnerable, frail, elderly lady who you believed you could easily take money from.

"Your motivation to act in this way was utterly self-centred and without thought for the impact on anybody else."

He added it was "very likely" Morrison would die in custody.

Last month Morrison's barrister, Nick Clarke, said his client wanted cash because he did not want his family to face the financial burden of paying for his funeral.

Morrison was diagnosed with incurable kidney cancer in summer 2024 and told he would probably have less than two years to live.

On New Year's Day he set up an online fund-raising appeal entitled "Help to bury me" as he outlined his health problems.

He wrote: "More or less been told to go in a corner and see my time out. I have no money to cover funeral costs and other incidentals."

However, the court heard earlier that the funeral arrangements had already been paid in August 2024 by Morrison.

Clarke said that it was an "error" in mitigation rather than an intention by Morrison to deceive the court and maintained his client's actions were "altruistic".

He said: "It has always been the case that he intended the money for his partner. It was not money that was ever intended for him or to pay off debts he had brought upon himself."

Prosecutors said Morrison was regularly gambling at his local bookmaker's in the months before the attack but did not visit the Betfred shop on that day.

He was also said to have expressed "concerns" about funding a new kitchen at the home where he lived with his then long-term partner.

Once inside the woman's home, he put his hands around her throat and repeatedly demanded cash and her purse, before using cable ties to bind her hands together.

His further demands for cash were foiled when the hairdresser arrived at the home, and the woman shouted for help.

Det Insp Paul Davies said the hairdresser's "brave actions" included getting him out of the living room and calling 999 immediately.

Morrison then fled the scene, and was later spotted driving away before cable ties were found at his address.

The woman's injuries were not serious but she did suffer from bruises, the force added.

Det Insp Davies said officers were initially "shocked by the very nature" of the offence.

"It was a terrifying ordeal for the victim and Morrison's actions of targeting a woman in her own home were shocking."

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