A man put laxatives in his sister’s milk in a row over the inheritance of their family home.
Robert McCabe’s sister Sharon grew suspicious after a four-pint bottle of milk smelt of chemicals in a “sibling squabble” which grew increasingly bitter.
With help from her son, she set up the camera with McCabe, 69, who was rumbled when footage showed him holding a white piece of paper over the milk and tipping something into it.
He was hauled before the courts where his sister said in an impact statement: “I was shocked and saddened he could be so malicious and vindictive towards me.”
Minshull Street Crown Court heard McCabe lived at the family home with Sharon and their brother Desmond.
Daniel Lister, prosecuting, said their mother had rented the property in Heywood, Greater Manchester, from the council and after she died the siblings continued to live there.
McCabe eventually became the owner along with another brother, Dennis, who had lived in Australia but returned home and paid the mortgage although it was the defendant’s name on the paperwork, the court heard.
In his will, Dennis had said he wanted Sharon’s son to get the house, a decision which led to the row between the remaining siblings, Manchester Evening News reports.
The court heard McCabe put laxatives in milk on two or three occasions during a two-week period before he was caught.
Sharon, who has pancreatitis, experienced stomach pains in April 2020 and required hospital treatment.
She was eventually discharged but later noticed the chemical smell. Mr Lister told the court: “She reported her concerns to her son who informed the police.
“Then on April 21, 2020, the victim and her son set up a camera in the kitchen, which covered half of anyone who was standing by the fridge.”
Mr Lister said it showed Robert and Desmond looking at the milk and shaking it. The footage also revealed the defendant holding the paper over the open bottle of milk and tipping something into it. Mr Lister told the court: “We now know that was a laxative.”
Both brothers were interviewed and Robert admitted administering the substance. In a statement, Sharon said what happened had caused her anxiety.
She said: “I was shocked and saddened that he could be so malicious and vindictive towards me. I’ve been through hell over the last three-and-a-half years thinking about what he did to me.
“I genuinely believe he will do anything to get me to leave my family home of 41 years and I no longer have contact with my siblings. I feel like I am being punished by them.”
Barrister Rachel Faux, defending McCabe, said he expressed remorse towards his sister and agreed with the judge it was a case of “sibling squabbling”.
She added: “He wants to put matters behind him as quickly as he can and move forward with his life.”
Judge Maurice Greene, sentencing, said McCabe was charged with an offence rarely seen before the courts. He added: “This involved sibling rivalry. The sort of sibling rivalry a man of your age shouldn’t be involved in.
“There are ways to deal with things, legal ways to deal with things, and you may not always get your own way.
“What you did was inexcusable, juvenile behaviour, and it was not on another juvenile – you knew your sister had health problems.”
McCabe, of Starkey Street, Heywood, pleaded guilty to maliciously administering a noxious thing to annoy, injure or aggrieve, under the Offences Against the Person Act, 1861.
He was made the subject of an 18-month community order and ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work as well as 15 days of rehabilitation activity requirements.
