Mrs Richards was stabbed through the heart

A jury at Birmingham Crown Court unanimously convicted Tina Trevis, 35, of killing Constance Richards at the pensioner's home in the Newtown area of the city last year.

Trevis, who had broken into the 82-year-old's maisonette looking for money to buy drugs, beat her with a pair of bellows before stabbing her through the heart with a kitchen knife.

The mother-of-two from Ryland House, Newtown, had claimed she had found Mrs Richards slumped in the flat when she broke in on 1 October.

Repeat offender

The body of Mrs Richards - known locally as the "bird lady" due to her fondness for feeding pigeons - was discovered the following day by a friend who called at her home.

Fingerprints on sweet wrappers, newspapers and prescription bags at the scene of the crime led detectives to Trevis, who had raided Mrs Richards' home only six months earlier.

Trevis is a cold, calculating killer. She has preyed on the elderly before Detective Superintendent Dave Mirfield

Mr Justice Beatson also jailed Trevis for 18 months for burglary.

Speaking outside the court after Friday's verdict, Detective Superintendent Dave Mirfield, of West Midlands Police, said: "I am delighted with the verdict.

"It has been an extremely difficult case, made more traumatic by the fact that Trevis pleaded not guilty and made the family sit through the horrendous details of what went on in that flat on the day.

"Trevis is a cold, calculating killer. She has preyed on the elderly before. Hopefully, she will never do it again."

The family of Mrs Richards, including her niece and cousin, issued a statement through police expressing their relief at the conviction.

The statement read: "Justice has been done. Our aunt was a frail and vulnerable woman who had old-fashioned values and trusted people.

"As far as the family is concerned the evidence was overwhelming."