Woman sentenced to probation after fatal bank robbery

A bank customer who fatally pushed an 82-year-old woman with Alzheimer’s disease to the ground in a queue has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Courtney Richman, 26, pushed Myra Coutinho-Lopez to the floor of Lloyds Bank in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, in December 2021 after becoming impatient in line behind the pensioner.

At Luton Crown Court, Richman was sentenced to 16 months in prison for manslaughter, suspended for 21 months.

In handing down the verdict, Judge Michael Simon criticised Lloyds staff for failing to defuse the situation and called on the banks to ensure that all their staff receive dementia training.

The court heard that Ms Coutinho-Lopez had forgotten that she had withdrawn money three days earlier and that this had caused a long queue because she had an argument with a cashier.

On the day in question, Richman, standing in line, was heard saying, “Hurry up, people don’t have all day.”

An argument then ensued. In the video footage shown to the jury, Ms. Coutinho-Lopez swung her handbag at Richman, whereupon the young woman pushed her.

Prosecutor Martin Mulgrew said Richman had shown “a catastrophic outburst of anger”.

Ms. Coutinho-Lopez died on December 16, 2021, 10 days after the incident.

After the hearing, Ms Coutinho-Lopez’s daughter Michelle Lopez said she and her family were “trapped in an emotional prison”.

“It was a consequence of Courtney Richman’s despicable and malicious behavior,” she added.

Ms Lopez criticised the “apathy and lack of empathy” of Lloyds Bank employees.

She also said that Richman has “enjoyed her freedom” since that day.

Judge Michael Simon said Ms Coutinho-Lopez was a known customer and the bank was aware that she suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.

He said that due to a “lack of understanding” on the part of bank staff, even after 20 to 30 minutes of confrontation between Ms Coutinho-Lopez and the bank employee, there was no sign of a solution and the situation escalated.

The judge added: “The court orders the entire banking sector to ensure that all customer-facing staff receive dementia awareness training. This training includes recognised strategies for dealing with customers affected by such problems and for conflict resolution.

“It cannot be said with certainty that the events leading to Ms Coutinho-Lopez’s death would not have happened had this been in force in December 2021, but on the evidence before this court, it is highly likely that the incident would not have ended in this tragedy.”

Richman was also ordered to complete a rehabilitation requirement of 15 to 25 days and 180 hours of unpaid work.

Defending, Claire Davies KC said Richman had lost custody of her two children as a result of her conviction.

Det Supt Rob Hall, head of the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Serious Crime Unit, said: “This has been a horrific ordeal for Myra’s family and our thoughts are with them at this continuing difficult time.”