An 81-year-old man who strangled and tied up an elderly woman in a botched robbery in a bid to try and steal money for his own funeral after being diagnosed with terminal cancer has been jailed.
Edwin Morrison posed as a council worker when he targeted Mary Morgan in her home in Little Hutton, Salford, after remembering she used to tip him a ‘princely sum’ of £2 when he dropped off medication as part of his previous job.
The pensioner strangled Mrs Morgan before shouting ‘give me your money’, and binding her hands together with cable ties on January 27, Manchester Crown Court heard.
His terrified 95-year-old victim said she thought ‘it was the end’ after ‘all hell broke loose’ as ‘madman’ Morrison left her ‘gasping for breath’. And as she pleaded with him to let her go because she could not breathe, he told her to ‘shut up’.
But his attack was foiled after her mobile hairdresser, by chance, arrived for Mrs Morgan’s home for a weekly appointment, and he was forced to flee the property empty-handed.
Mrs Morgan shouted at her to call the police, with Morrison then holding his hands up as if he was going to grab the throat of the hairdresser, the court was told, before she ran away and he left the house.
Morrison of Worsley has been sentenced to seven years behind bars today after pleading guilty to attempted robbery.
Sentencing Judge Peter Horgan told Morrison: ‘Your involvement in this serious offence beggars belief, but that will be of no comfort to your victims.
Edwin Morrison has been sentenced to seven years behind bars after being found guilty of attempted robbery
He (pictured in the area on the day) targeted Mary Morgan in her home in Little Hutton, Salford, after remembering she used to tip him a ‘princely sum’ of £2 when he dropped off medication as part of his previous job
‘You had identified a vulnerable, frail, elderly lady who you believed you could easily take money from.
‘It is unclear what actually motivated you to commit this crime.’
Last month, the court heard Morrison’s motivation for the attack was ‘altruistic rather than malicious’ as he was struggling to pay for his funeral following a failed crowdfunding attempt.
In the summer of 2024, the 81-year-old was diagnosed with incurable kidney cancer and was told he would probably have less than two years to live.
On New Year’s Day, he launched a GoFundMe appeal titled ‘Help to bury me’, outlining his health issues, adding that he had been told to ‘go in a corner and see [his] time out. I have no money to cover funeral costs and other incidentals.’
However, the court heard on Wednesday that Morrison had already paid for his funeral arrangements in August 2024.
Nick Clarke, defending, said it was an ‘error’ rather than Morrison intending to deceive the court as he insisted his client’s actions were ‘altruistic’.
‘It has always been the case that he intended the money for his partner,’ he said.
‘It was not money that was ever intended for him or to pay off debts he had brought upon himself.’
Prosecutors said Morrison was regularly gambling at his local bookmaker’s in the months before the attack, but did not visit the Betfred shop on that day.
They previously told the court that although Morrison was a ‘gambler’, but he was not ‘looking to steal money to repay a debt’.
He was also said to have expressed ‘concerns’ about funding a new kitchen at the home where he lived with his then long-term partner.
The 81-year-old’s life had spiralled following his split from his ex-partner, it was said during the trial.
He was also forced to quit work at the age of 75, causing a decline in his physical health.
On the day of the incident, Morrison, then 80, was seen ‘scoping’ out addresses in Little Hulton area.
He knew the area of some of the homes, having previously worked as a courier delivering medications for a pharmacy, Rob Smith, prosecuting, told the court.
He told Mrs Morgan that he wanted to discuss bin collections being changed to a different day before going inside.
Morrison then ‘put his hands round her throat’ and demanded: ‘Give me your money.’
He used cable ties to bind Mrs Morgan’s hands together, and when she complained they were too tight, he told her: ‘Shut up! Where’s your purse?’
However, the elderly robber was disturbed by a hairdresser who arrived at Mrs Morgan’s address for her weekly appointment.
She initially thought he was a friend of the victim and assumed it was a ‘joke’ when Mrs Morgan shouted: ‘Get the police.’
It was only when Mrs Morgan showed how her hands were tied together that she attempted to raise the alarm, the court heard, prompting Morrison to try to ‘trap’ both women in the house.
But the hairdresser was able to shut a glass door behind Morrison and call the police. He fled the address in his car, which was traced to his home, where he told officers, ‘I did it’, as he was taken into custody.
In a personal victim statement, Mrs Morgan said the incident had caused a loss of confidence and that she felt ‘unsafe’ in her own home.
‘I’m like a prisoner and I can’t go outside.’ She added: ‘I thought I was going to die that day and thank my hairdresser for coming in and disturbing him.’
Morrison, of Manchester Road, Worsley, Greater Manchester – who retired seven years ago – pleaded guilty to attempted robbery at an earlier hearing.
Judge Horgan disagreed that Morrison’s actions were altruistic, saying: ‘Your motivation to act in this way was utterly self-centred and without thought for the impact on anybody else.’
He added it was ‘very likely’ Morrison would die in custody.
Detective Inspector Paul Davies, of Greater Mancheser Police, said: ‘It was a terrifying ordeal for the victim and Morrison’s actions of targeting a woman in her own home were shocking.
‘Her resilience and strength following this vile crime have been truly inspirational and I am glad that the investigative team have been able to get her the justice she deserves.
‘I also want to commend the brave actions of her hairdresser who arrived as the crime was happening. She prevented Morrison from doing anything further, got him out of the living room and called 999 straight away.’
Rob Lancaster, of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: ‘I hope the fact that Morrison has been prosecuted within three months of committing this appalling offence reassures the victim, and wider community, that the CPS takes these types of cases extremely seriously.
‘The strength of the prosecution case, including forensic evidence and CCTV from the surrounding properties, meant Morrison had little option but to admit his guilt at the first hearing.’