Senior nurse who slipped £5k Rolex off dying pensioner’s wrist and tried to pawn it faces jail
A SENIOR nurse stole was warned he faces jail today after he admitted stealing a £5,000 Rolex watch from a dying grandfather after he suffered a massive heart attack.
Joseph Miller, 40, pocketed the pricey timepiece as medics were desperately trying to save the life of David Davies, 68, in the resuscitation room after he was rushed to hospital in cardiac arrest.
Mr Davies tragically died without regaining consciousness leaving his family bereft.
Months later Miller went to a jewellers in a bid to get the Submariner Rolex watch valued before offering it for sale.
Today as he was due to go on trial he pleaded guilty to stealing the watch while on duty in the accident and emergency department at St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester.
Judge Ian Pearson told the senior nurse that the crime was "serious" and warned him he could face jail.
Portsmouth crown court heard Miller had been on duty at the time Mr Davies was admitted to hospital and there was CCTV of him entering the resuscitation room.
But Sarah Jones, defending, said Miller had not intended to steal the watch and he had picked up the watch by mistake.
RELATED STORIES
In a statement Miller said: "I must have picked up the Rolex watch by mistake and put it in my shirt pocket."
He said he had intended to hand it back but must have forgotten about it and later panicked when he discovered he still had it.
But he claimed he then suffered a number of family traumas and had then forgotten to return it.
At an earlier hearing Worthing magistrates were told Mr Davies had been rushed to St Richard’s Hospital in August 2014 after suffering a heart attack.
The watch was found to be missing after the patient was declared dead - but CCTV clearly showed Mr Davies wearing it while being taken into the resuscitation room.
Kristen Sharp, prosecuting, said: "Afterwards the watch had gone. It had been on his wrist and was not with the personal affairs handed back to the family."
Miss Sharp said the theft of the watch was the worst type of "breach of trust" and had been committed by a senior nurse.
Miller, of Walberton, West Sussex, wore a smart blue suit, blue shirt and tie when he appeared before Portsmouth crown court where he pleaded guilty to theft.
He will be sentenced next month. Under current guidelines the senior nurse could face a prison sentence of around two years.
The Rolex watch was later recovered by police and was handed back to the bereaved family March this year.
After the case Mr Davies’ wife and son were too distressed to talk about theft and she left the court building in tears.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368