Woman’s spending spree on dead neighbour’s bank card

A woman previously accused of killing her neighbour in a western Sydney caravan park has been jailed for stealing money from her bank card to buy tens of thousands of dollars worth of goods during a shopping spree at KFC, Bunnings, and Target.

A woman who was previously accused of killing her neighbour in western Sydney has been jailed for stealing money from her.

Noeline Childs, 51, was convicted of three fraud offences for using Kerry Bromley’s bank card and bank accounts around Christmas in 2014 and the day after her body was found in her caravan.

Childs had previously been charged with her neighbour’s murder but police later dropped the charge.

Childs chalked up almost $20,000 on KFC, Target, Bunnings, Rivers, tobacco shops, supermarkets and at service stations using Bromley’s bank card from December 18 to Boxing Day in 2014.

Court documents reveal after discovering the money had been spent Bromley reported the stolen card to police on January 8, 2015 and told Childs she suspected she was the one to blame.

Jailed.... Noeline Childs chalked up $20,000 on dead woman’s bank card. Picture: 9 News

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Eleven days later Bromley was found dead in her Vineyard caravan, the same park Childs lived at.

In the early hours the following morning Childs unsuccessfully tried to transfer more than $100,000 out of Bromley’s account into hers.

She was able to do an online transfer of $5000.

Police arrested Childs on June 16, 2015 and charged her with murder which they dropped in August 2016.

That’s despite court documents revealing police allegedly have a phone recording of Childs talking about murder with her partner at the time.

In that conversation Childs’ partner asked if there was something wrong with her.

“Did you fucken kill somebody for the money? No. I did it right. Shut up, I’m the one under pressure waiting,” she is alleged to have said.

The court heard yesterday the murder investigation was still ongoing and Childs was only facing three fraud charges.

Court documents reveal the 57-year-old Bromley had physical problems from suffering from anorexia nervosa as a child which meant she relied on neighbours to buy groceries and other household items.

The Western Sydney caravan park at Vineyard where Kerry Bromley’s body was found.

“On 17 December, 2014, Bromley with the assistance of (Childs) travelled to the St George Bank Windsor where upon Bromley collected a new keycard having misplaced her previous keycard,” the court documents reveal.

“A few days later coming in to possession of this keycard Bromley contacted her sister Lynne Mayfield and informed her that someone must have stolen her keycard.”

It was this bankcard that Childs plead guilty to using from December 18, 2014 to Boxing Day.

This included spending $365 at a Windsor tobacco shop, $54 at KFC, $1740 at Target, $1800 at petrol stations, $760 at Coles, $600 at Cotton On, $450 at Lowes and $370 at 7-Eleven.

Magistrate Karl Milovanovich said the fraud charges were serious because Childs had broken Bromley’s trust.

“You realise the facts in this case paint a very, very serious breach of trust with the lady involved,” he said.

“You breached that trust by exploiting her trust by using her card.”

Magistrate Milovanovich said Childs had history of similar offences stretching back to 1986.

“You would be well aware you have an appalling record for the matter of dishonesty,” he said.

“I’m not going to embarrass you by going through every item that appears on the record back to 1986 right up to February 2014.”

Magistrate Milovanovich asked Childs what she had to say.

“ I am very remorseful for what I have done,” she said.

She was then sentenced to 20 months in jail, of which she will have to serve a further six months after Magistrate Milovanovich included the time she had already served before being sentenced.