Daughter travels 10,000 miles to confront carer who stole £100,000 in jewellery from paralysed elderly mum

Daughter travels 10,000 miles to confront carer who stole £100,000 in jewellery from paralysed elderly mum A daughter made a final promise to her mother and travelled from Australia to the UK to confront the man who stole 62 pieces of jewellery from the OAP while caring for her A daughter flew 10,000 miles to confront a carer who stole £100,000 worth of jewellery from her elderly mum, fulfilling a pledge she made at her deathbed. Tracy Mellor, 62, travelled from Sydney, Australia, to the UK to face David White, 35, who "betrayed" her paralysed mother Elaine Macgregor. The live-in carer swiped the 82-year-old's engagement ring and heirlooms which had been handed down over generations - despite being treated like a son. The daughter faced White, from Peckham, London, at Bolton Crown Court where he was jailed for four years after admitting theft by employee. Elaine, a former headteacher at Tyldesley Central School, lived in Leigh, Greater Manchester, and died in December 2025 before the case was resolved. The elderly woman suffered from corticobasal degeneration - a rare disease that damages brain cells and can severely affect movement and speech. The condition left her quadriplegic and dependent on carers, which allowed White to exploit her disability and family's trust to steal 62 pieces of jewellery. Facing White in court, Tracy said: "I can stand here, look you in the face and tell you what your betrayal did to my mum. And Mum, I kept my promise." Tracy, who moved to Sydney, Australia, in 2008, described her mum as fiercely independent, with a love of biking and dinner parties. She said: "Mum was a force to be reckoned with, she was someone who grasped life with both hands." White had arrived through a care agency as a live-in carer, initially restoring Elaine's social life with outings and holidays. He was later dismissed by the agency for what Tracy said was "not following rules", however the family employed him privately. She said: "It's a weird feeling when you have a live-in carer, it's like they're a part of your family. I live in Australia, so he was my eyes and ears. I'd speak to him every day." White and Elaine drew up a bucket list of destinations, and the pair even visited Scotland and a Titanic exhibition. The carer once even invited her friends round, hung fairy lights and served snacks in black tie. Tracy said: "She was ecstatic because he made her feel like a real person again. He used his personality and character to get us to trust him." The thefts started to unravel while White accompanied Elaine to Sydney, in March 2023. The mother repeatedly asked about her solitaire engagement ring, which she could no longer wear. He assured both women it was safely locked away in England. Tracy said: "He kept saying it's in the safe. My mum was physically very disabled but, mentally, she was all there. He tried to make it look like mum was losing her mind. She could only whisper, but she kept saying 'ring, ring'. She absolutely loved that ring." In her victim impact statement, Tracy said: "Mum could not go home, open the safe and check for herself. She had no choice but to take his word for it." When they returned to England, Tracy asked another carer to check the safe, beginning the discovery of the thefts, which Tracy said left her mum "absolutely distraught". Elaine also told her daughter that White had started shouting at her and she was frightened of him. In May 2023, despite being able to speak only in a whisper, the elderly woman told at police officer what had happened. In her statement, later read to the court by Tracy, Elaine said: "I feel distraught that someone I trusted has stolen from me. I am especially upset about the stolen jewellery as this was gifted to me by my late husband. "I trusted David White; he saw me at my most vulnerable as I relied on him in every aspect of my life. We treated David as family, he has betrayed me and ruined my ability to trust others." Tracy promised her dying mum she would confront White and did so in court, saying: "He looked at me while I read the statement. I was glad to do it." The non-executive director and management consultant is writing a book called 'David White Cares' and hopes her experience will help other families. She said: "It's very difficult to know if a carer is being honest. Sometimes, there's nothing you can do. The guilt and shame is terrible. In the end, we found a lovely carer who stayed until mum died, so there are some brilliant people out there."