A woman found with war memorabilia from a dead person's house in Dunedin says she was committing crimes to send money to a threatening ex-partner in prison.
Kathleen Tamsin Smith, 40, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after she earlier pleaded guilty to six charges of theft, receiving and possessing utensils for burglary.
The court heard that between December 10 and 20, 2023, a dead person’s house in Kenmure Rd was burgled.
The owner was an "avid collector" of war memorabilia and other antiques, a police summary said.
During the burglary, many of these items were stolen, as well as jewellery.
On December 17, 2023, Smith was driving a stolen vehicle when she was stopped by police and arrested.
In her purse was a "substantial amount" of war memorabilia and collector’s items from the Kenmure Rd address.
Smith told police she had "no idea" how the stolen items came to be in the car she was in.
She said she had never been to the Kenmure Rd address.
On October 24 last year, police responded to an allegation that Smith was involved in stealing a vehicle from a Mosgiel address.
Inside her purse was a multi-tool, which also functioned as a hammer and had a glass-breaking implement, a screwdriver and headlamp.
The court also heard of Smith’s shoplifting offences. The offences included stealing salami, perfume, phone chargers and bed linen.
This week, counsel John Westgate said his client had reflected on what caused her to offend.
"This defendant has two issues: one is drugs, the other is poor choices when it comes to relationships," he said.
"She knows full well that her future depends entirely on her choices, and she’ll end up in prison if she makes the wrong ones."
Judge Michael Turner noted Smith was found with the war memorabilia only 11 days after she was sentenced for other dishonesty offending.
She said she committed the crimes so she could send money to a threatening ex-partner who was in prison, and she denied the offending was drug-fuelled.
Smith insisted she did not have contact with that man any more.
"She has used her time in custody productively to reflect on her life," the judge said.
He sentenced Smith to one year, three months’ jail and ordered her to pay $1145 reparation for the shoplifted items.
Due to her time spent in custody on remand, Smith would likely be released shortly.
