NEWS

Woman who stole from man having heart attack sentenced

Kevin Grasha
kgrasha@enquirer.com
Jennifer Herth

A woman who stole the wallet from a 58-year-old man as he was having a heart attack was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison.

The April 14 incident was one of seven thefts Jennifer Herth, a 32-year-old heroin addict, admitted to committing. She pleaded guilty last month.

She targeted five elderly victims, officials said.

But it was the theft of Barry Wood's wallet – after his wife, Carol, saw Herth walking by their Westwood home and beckoned her for help – that a prosecutor called "outrageous" and "unacceptable."

Hamilton County Assistant Prosecutor Micheal Peck said Herth "took advantage of a tragic situation … to steal."

At Wednesday's sentencing in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, Carol Wood described how she found her husband that morning lying on the floor of a second-floor bedroom, partially between two heavy pieces of furniture. She couldn't move him to administer first aid while she waited for paramedics, but when she saw Herth walking by the house, she shouted for help.

Herth standing next to her attorney, Roger Kirk, at her sentencing Wednesday in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court.

Wood said Herth followed her upstairs.

"Her idea of help was to suggest that I throw cold water on him," Wood said, "then she took his wallet and left."

Wood's husband died that day. During the visitation several days later, Herth returned to the house with a story about a lost gold necklace. A house-sitter, who Wood said friends "insisted I get because of what happened," was able to turn Herth away.

"Even that wasn't enough," Wood said. Herth returned again – this time after the funeral – telling Wood about a lost necklace and how she was fired because she was late for work the day of her husband's heart attack.

Wood, who had called 911 when she saw it was Herth at the door, talked to her until police arrived.

"Not only did she demonstrate a complete willingness to steal form a man who was dying on the floor," Wood said, "but she came up with a plan to come back and victimize (us) again."

Judge Jerome Metz Jr. told Herth: "The emotional terror that you've inflicted on Ms. Wood after the death of her husband is completely reprehensible."