Widow cannot go back to house where Bertie was killed

The widow of Coleraine pensioner Bertie Acheson has not returned to the martial home since her husband lost his life following a confrontation with a burglar, a court heard on Friday.

Mr Acheson (72) died after he struggled and was subsequently assaulted by Paul James Manolito Toland, who targeted the couple’s home in the early hours of April 30, 2012.

Belfast Crown Court heard that 41-year old Toland, formerly of The Cedars in Antrim, drove from his home to Coleraine with the intention of robbing Mr Acheson as he knew there was a pile of cash sitting on top of a kitchen cupboard.

Employed as a service engineer for a local vacuum sales and repair business, Toland had visited the Acheson home in March 2012 when the pensioner agreed to update his vacuum cleaner system.

It was during this visit that Mr Acheson alerted Toland to the fact that he kept money on top of a kitchen cupboard - and it was the knowledge of this money which sparked events that led to the death of a much-loved husband, father and grandfather.

Mr Acheson’s death, the court heard, has had a “devastating and ever-lasting consequences” on the family, especially his widow Sheila.

Toland - who admitted causing the unlawful death of the pensioner - smashed a window to gain entry to the elderly couple’s Glenmore Gardens bungalow. The smashing glass woke Mrs Sheila Acheson from her sleep, and when her husband got out of bed to investigate, he was confronted by Toland.

Mrs Acheson, who was 70 at the time and who was described in court as a woman suffering from limited mobility and arthritis, remained in the bedroom where she heard the intruder ask her husband for money. Mr Acheson responded by telling Toland, “I will give you the keys to the car. Take what you like and go.”

A struggle between the two men ensued in the kitchen, during which the pensioner was grabbed or choked around the neck, was punched in the face and was left on the ground, out of breath. oland then entered the couple’s bedroom, and told Mrs Acheson “I want money. I want money. If I don’t get money I will kill your husband.”

Using a walking stick to get out of bed, Mrs Atcheson lifted her purse out of her bag, which Toland grabbed before fleeing. The purse contained a total of £335 in cash.

After the intruder left, Mrs Acheson called out to her husband before ringing her daughter Sandra, who lived nearby. When Sandra arrived at her parents home a short time later, she noticed the door at the side of the house was open. She then discovered her father lying face forward on the kitchen floor.