WOMAN ADVENTURESS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17459, 1 May 1920, Page 2 (Supplement)

WOMAN ADVENTURESS.

LONG CAREER OF CRIME. "A PEST OF SOCIETY." "1 nave never heird a stranger or sadder story of crime. This woman baa evi dently had great powers of fascination and has deceived all sorts of people. She i.i a pest to society." These words were used by Mr. Justice Baiihache, at Durham Assizes, in passing sentence on Helen Aileen Sinclair, who, although only 28 years of age, has had one of the most astounding careers of modern women criminals. Three times a bigamist, she has committed many robberies, has been suspected of incendiarism, and, according to counsel, has been reckless alike of life and property. After pleading guilty to a chaTge of theft, she was charged with being an habitual criminal. Detective-Inspector McAnslore, of Edra burgh, said she had lived by means of fraud, and bad posed as a ward in Chancery. She had represented herself to be a woman who was highly educated and of high parentage. On one occasion she nursed an old woman, in Edinburgh, and the room in which she tended her was set on fire. A hotel near Edinburgh where she stayed was later gutted by fire. A large sum of money was stolen, and was .traced to Sinclair, though the police could not connect her with the fire. 'She had represented herself as Master of Arts, Edinburgh, and had stolen a cap, gown and hood to attend a cinvention at Oxford University. "This woman,"added tho inspector, "is the most notorious female criminal who has come within my experience. She could make doctors or anyone believe anything, and was utterly and absolutely un scrupulous." Inspector Jameson said that a fire occurred in the manse at Castle Douglas, where Sinclair was a nurse, and it was bus pected that she had caused the outbreak. It was asserted that she had stolen nursing certificates from Nurse Sinclair in London, and had used them in obtaining situations. She had been dismissed from '. position at Dublin College, and in her luggage was fcund £40 worth of linen taken from the college. Later, posing as a nurse, she was appointed to tend scarlet fever cases at Barnard Castle, and soon afterwards was dis missed from Bedlington Isolation Hospital for stealing. There were convictions against her at Rochester, Dublin, Surrey, Edinburgh and many other places. Sentence of three years' penal servitude and five years' preventive detention was passed.