A 33-year old woman splattered tomato sauce across her kitchen to pretend that there had been violent robbery attempt, as a way to get attention from her partner, the court heard today.
The woman was placed under probation after the court observed that she had since given birth to a child and had acquired stability in her life.
The story dates back to February 2015 when the woman’s partner reported at the local police station that two men had allegedly forced their way into her residence and threatened her.
The police went to investigate and were told the same story by the woman, who showed them the red ‘blood’ on the floor as well as marks on her face and neck. However, one of the officers was not convinced and forensic tests showed that the red liquid was in fact tomato sauce.
Faced with this irrefutable evidence at the police station, the woman had confessed to having spun the tale so as “to attract her partner's attention”
Footage retrieved from CCTV cameras at the scene also showed that no one had approached the house.
A court-appointed medico-legal expert subsequently reported that the markings on the woman's face had been made with blusher.
Faced with this irrefutable evidence at the police station, the woman had confessed to having spun the tale so as “to attract her partner's attention”.
A couple of months later, two women from the same locality filed separate though similar reports about a woman who had knocked at their door, wearing a tag and collecting donations for a TV programme promoting the needs of disabled children.
Both said that the woman had stolen some cash while their backs were turned. In one case, the thief asked for a tissue because of a cold and stole money while she was gone, while in the other, the woman took money from a purse while the house-owner went to fetch her cat.
The description of the thief tallied with that of the accused, who was eventually charged the simulated crime and the two thefts.
The court, presided over by Magistrate Josette Demicoli, declared the woman guilty, and placed her under a two-year Probation Order, ordering that she be given psychological help.