MAN JAILED AFTER SHOVING 78-YEAR-OLD DEMENTIA PATIENT TO THE GROUND IN UNPROVOKED ATTACK

A 38-year-old man has been jailed after forcefully shoving a 78-year-old woman to the ground in an unprovoked attack that left her with a broken wrist and fractured vertebra and caused a devastating decline in her independence.

Dean McLellan was sentenced to two years and six months in prison at Newcastle Crown Court after admitting inflicting grievous bodily harm on the elderly woman in Hebburn, South Tyneside.

The court heard that the pensioner had Alzheimer’s disease but, before the incident, was still able to live alone with support from carers and regularly go out into her local community.

Her life changed dramatically after the attack.

A FRIENDLY CONVERSATION ABOUT A BABY

The incident happened shortly before 9pm on June 23 outside a Best One shop in Hebburn.

McLellan had been outside the store with a woman and a young child in a pushchair. CCTV showed that he was shirtless and carrying a bottle.

The 78-year-old encountered the group and spoke to them. The court heard that she appeared interested in the baby and began a friendly conversation with the woman.

Prosecutor Richard Herrmann described their interaction as “perfectly friendly and good-natured.”

The pensioner was seen bending down and engaging with the baby while standing near the pushchair.

CCTV showed McLellan entering the shop after apparently receiving something from the pensioner, believed to have been money.

When he came back outside, however, the situation suddenly changed.

THE SUDDEN PUSH

The court heard that McLellan stood behind the pushchair while the woman was talking to the baby.

As the pensioner stood up, he moved around the side of the pushchair and, without warning, forcefully pushed her with his right hand.

The elderly woman was thrown backwards and landed heavily on the concrete.

Prosecutors said she was physically slight and obviously frail compared with McLellan.

The victim was later able to tell her daughter that McLellan had shouted words to the effect of “get out of my way” immediately before the assault.

The prosecution described the attack as wholly unprovoked and unjustified.

HE WALKED AWAY AS SHE LAY INJURED

CCTV footage also captured what happened immediately afterwards.

Rather than checking whether the pensioner was seriously hurt, McLellan walked away.

The woman who had been with him remained with the injured pensioner and helped her while emergency services were contacted.

The 78-year-old was taken to hospital, where doctors found that she had suffered a broken wrist and a fractured vertebra in her spine.

She required treatment and later needed significantly more assistance with everyday activities.

HER LIFE WAS CHANGED

Before the assault, the pensioner was still able to enjoy getting out of her home and maintaining a social life despite living with Alzheimer’s disease.

Her daughter told the court that her mother had undergone a “massive change” since the incident.

She is now unable to perform many basic tasks independently.

The court heard that she struggles to:

• Hold a cup of tea
• Feed herself
• Bathe herself
• Get dressed without assistance

Her daughter described the impact as life-changing and said her mother was no longer the happy person she had been before the attack.

The prosecution also told the court that the assault had contributed to a significant deterioration in her dementia.

“WHAT SORT OF PERSON DOES THAT?”

McLellan, who had 21 previous convictions, including robbery and offences involving violence, pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Sentencing him, Judge Thomas Moran said the CCTV footage made the circumstances of the assault particularly clear.

The judge said the pensioner was an obviously frail and vulnerable woman and questioned how anyone could behave in such a way towards her.

He also condemned McLellan for walking away while she was lying injured on the ground.

“Shame on you for such despicable behaviour,” the judge told him.

The judge said the woman’s previously active social life had effectively been brought to an end by the attack.

DEFENCE SAYS HE IS SORRY

McLellan’s barrister, Jason Smith, described the incident as a serious act of stupidity and said his client accepted responsibility for what he had done.

The defence told the court that McLellan was sorry for the assault.

It was also said that he has three children and cares for his own mother.

Despite the mitigation presented on his behalf, the court imposed a sentence of 30 months’ imprisonment.

A FAMILY LEFT DEALING WITH THE AFTERMATH

The sentence brings the court proceedings to a conclusion, but the consequences for the pensioner and her family continue.

What had been an ordinary evening trip to a local shop ended with a serious injury and a dramatic loss of independence for a vulnerable elderly woman.

Her daughter told the court that the family had been left devastated by the changes they had seen in her since the assault.

The case has highlighted how a brief and apparently ordinary interaction can have life-changing consequences when violence suddenly occurs.

McLellan will now serve his prison sentence after admitting the offence at Newcastle Crown Court.