Search for
Search for
Search forCHELMSFORD: Jury finds "serial fantasist" guilty of conspiracy charge
Thursday, November 20, 2008, 15:11
Michaela Britton, 40, of Waterson Vale, Chelmsford, rested her head on her left hand when the jury foreman announced their verdict just before 1pm on Thursday.
It took the jury, consisting of nine women and three men, at Chelmsford Crown Court four hours four minutes to return a unanimous guilty verdict.
Britton, aka Brittain, was convicted of conspiring with Paul Hendle and others to pervert the course of justice during a six month period in 2006 after a trial lasting more than three weeks.
Hendle had pleaded guilty earlier this year at Chelmsford Crown Court to conspiring to pervert the course of justice and received a nine month prison sentence.
Judge David Turner QC reserved judgement until December 22 saying he would almost certainly pass a custodial sentence.
He said it had been an unusual and difficult case and that a "grotesque" amount of time and public money had been spent.
Judge Turner praised the consummate skill and professionalism of prosecutor Ramiz Gursoy and defence counsel Francis Fitzgibbon.
And he thanked the jury for dealing with a huge amount of information before reaching a verdict, and that in his judgement, they had been had been "entirely" right.
He told them about Hendle's conviction saying that the information may be of some comfort to them, in the light of their verdict.
Judge Turner remarked: "It is one of the strangest cases it has been my unhappy duty to try."
He asked to see psychiatric, medical and probation reports saying that he had already seen earlier psychiatric and psychological reports that "told him a lot" about Britton.
Britton's counsel Francis Fitzgibbon applied for bail saying she had spent five and a half months in custody before being granted bail until the trial.
Mr Fitzgibbon said Britton had an appointment to see a heart specialist for an angiogram on Monday and that they could proceed to insert a stent.
But Judge Turner expressed grave concern that if he granted bail she could "interfere with justice" and he refused it.
He said he had observed Britton in considerable detail and seeing her give evidence in an "agitated" state had given him grave concern.
Prosecutor Ramiz Gursoy urged Judge Turner to commend the officers in the case and he replied that he would certainly give some thought to it.
Chelmsford commander Chief Inspector Glenn Maleary, said: "Out of greed and in pursuit of a false insurance claim Michaela Britton spun a web of lies and deceit putting at risk the liberty of innocent people.
"Investigating her fantasy stories and ultimately bringing her to justice has taken thousands of hours of police and prosecution time."
He said credit went to the investigators whose tenacity and objectivity brought to an end the activities of a creative and serial con artist.
"Despite overwhelming evidence Britton continued in her fantasy world causing distress to named individuals by alleging they were at fault and not her."
Ch Insp Maleary said Britton attempted to tarnish the good name of Essex Police and individual officers in her continued pursuit of greed.
"She had falsely claimed to be the victim of some of the most serious crimes possible and in doing so betrayed true victims and members of the public by denying them access to valuable police resources.
"I feel it a shame this woman has gone to such extraordinary levels to convince the police, her friends and family that her lies were true.
"However I am delighted that the court process has listened intently to her case and has reached its own conclusions."
Personal Injury Specialists. No Win No Fee, As Seen On TV.
Depart from Heathrow or Manchester. £xxx rtn inc tax. Book online now.
Pet Insurance- 5% Online Discount
UK Pet Insurance. Buy instantly online. From just £4.85 per month.
GUILTY: Michaela Britton
Comment on this story