Essien broke into the homes of four elderly and disabled victims the day after he was suspended from work, even smashing down the back door of a terrified couple aged in their 80s and helping himself to their money
Ediongseyene Essien, of no fixed address, aged 32 (Image: Merseyside Police)
A sacked care worker broke into his former patients’ homes to rob them in a terrifying crime spree days after he lost his job.
Ediongseyene Essien broke into the homes of four elderly and disabled victims the day after he was suspended from work, even smashing down the back door of a petrified couple in their 80s to steal their money.
Essien struck again at the home of a blind wheelchair user weeks later, pretending to still be his carer before callously kicking him to force his way into the home. His shocking crime spree finally came to an end when he snatched a woman’s handbag as she returned home from a shopping trip, leaving her desperately attempting to fight him off with her walking stick, reports Liverpool Echo.
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Friday (August 28) Essien had previously been employed as a care worker with Comfort Care. However, the 32-year-old, of no fixed address, was suspended from his position the day before he turned up at the home of one service user in the Tuebrook area of Liverpool at around lunchtime on March 10.
Laura Atherton, prosecuting, said the occupant, a wheelchair user and former patient of the defendant, was in bed when Essien gained entry by using a key stored in a coded safe outside the property. He subsequently took the man’s bank card, which was later used to make a series of purchases at Bargain Booze and L7 Village Market in Fairfield.
Essien subsequently visited a 74 year old man, who required carers four times a day owing to his numerous health complaints, at his ground floor flat in Anfield. He was said to have entered the victim’s bedroom on this occasion, although it is believed that no items were taken from the address.
At around 7.30pm, Essien then gained entry to the supported living accommodation of a bedbound man, also in Anfield, after informing staff that he had left some of his own belongings inside. He proceeded to spend up to 15 minutes ransacking this complainant’s possessions before once again leaving empty handed.
Earlier that same day, Essien was said to have called at the home of an 88 year old woman and her 85 year old husband, also a wheelchair user, at around 3pm and let himself in before departing. He returned at 9pm and began “ringing the doorbell and waving through the window” before coming back roughly 20 minutes later, at which point he kicked at the back door until he succeeded in smashing a glass pane.
The female occupant was left screaming for help as a result, with Essien having stolen the man’s wallet, which contained £200, before fleeing. In a statement read to the court on her behalf, she described how the ordeal had “completely devastated their lives”. She added: “We welcomed this man into our house and treated him with nothing but kindness and trust. To have this trust betrayed is heartbreaking.
Essien went on a crime spree across Liverpool (Image: Getty)
“The feeling of absolute helplessness in that moment was truly awful. My home, which I loved and cherished, is no longer my safe place. Due to our age, disabilities and severe mobility issues, we are unable to leave the house. We are trapped in the very place this trauma occurred. He robbed an elderly couple of their peace, comfort and safety in their final years.”
Essien was arrested in relation to this series of burglaries before being released on bail, after which he turned up at the home of a blind cerebral palsy sufferer in Edge Hill shortly after 2pm on May 15. Having assumed that someone repeatedly pressing his doorbell was one of his carers, the occupant made his way to his front door in his wheelchair before explaining that he had cancelled his scheduled visits for that day.
Essien insisted he had been “sent to check on” the man and proceeded to force his way inside, kicking the victim out of the way as he did so. He then rushed in and took £90 in cash before fleeing the property.
This victim described in his own statement how he had “not slept properly since” and was now “very nervous and anxious”. With his aunt, whom he had previously lived with for 30 years, having passed away in March of this year, he added: “I just hope he doesn’t get away with it. I’m very wary of new carers. I’m scared he will come back.”
At approximately 5pm the same day, Essien then targeted a “highly vulnerable” woman who was “small in stature” as she made her way home after visiting a nearby shop.
He snatched her handbag, which contained £40 in cash and her bank cards, “forcefully pulling it from her grasp” when she attempted to fend him off with her walking stick.
Her shopping bag was torn during the struggle, sending its contents scattering across the pavement. She told the court in her statement: “I’ve lost any independence I had before. I used to go out to the local shop and attend various community activities.
“As a result of this, I’ve felt very anxious at even the thought of going out on my own. I have to ask staff in my supported accommodation to go out to the shop for me. I’m a very vulnerable person. I feel that the person has seen me as an easy target, which is why he’s attacked me. I fear someone will see me as an easy target again.”
During questioning, Essien admitted carrying out the robbery on the man, telling detectives he was “homeless and needed money”. He likewise confessed to robbing the woman, stating he had “lost his job and was struggling and needed money for food”.
Essien was sentenced in Liverpool Crown Court (Image: Getty)
Essien has no previous convictions. Louise McCloskey, defending, said on his behalf: “I hope your honour accepts through me that he is genuinely remorseful. What we are talking about is two days. It is not a lengthy timeframe, but there have been significant ramifications as a result of what he has done.
“Mr Essien says, very frankly, at the age of 32, having secured employment, having broken through difficulties in his own background to be a role model within his own family, he committed what he himself says was the worst thing he has ever done. They are his words. I hope your honour accepts, through me, that he is genuinely sorry for what he did.
“During this very short period of time, something went very, very, drastically wrong. During that period between March and May, he had suffered hardships. He had sought assistance from others due to the loss of his employment, due to loss of his student status here, his declining mental health and uncertainty about what would happen to him, and, out of desperation, he committed those deeply unpleasant offences.
“He committed them often in drink, which, while it is an aggravating factor, perhaps goes to explain how this young man, who is extremely mild mannered and polite, could have committed such awful offences. He wants the court to understand that what happened on those two days will never ever be repeated.
“The defendant will automatically be subject to deportation, ordinarily, having served around 30 per cent of his sentence. Many will say rightly so, and he will accept the punishment that your honour must impose on him. He is trying to engage in custody with the opportunities that he can avail himself of.
“The defendant has extensive family responsibilities. He has children, a wife and ageing parents. He is unlikely to see any of those for a significant period of time, not least one of his youngest children, who he has not been able to meet yet due to his incarceration.
“Notwithstanding that his offending has brought great shame and hardship on his family, they indicate that they will support him once he returns home. Hopefully, he will be able to move forward when he returns to Nigeria and be the man that they thought he was. This is likely to be this defendant’s first and last custodial sentence.”
Essien admitted two counts of robbery, four of burglary and a charge of fraud. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool, he was seen holding his head in his hands before he was jailed for eight years and handed restraining orders which will ban him from contacting his victims for the next decade.