Woman pushed Hertfordshire pensioner, 82, in self-defence, court hears

Myra Coutinho-Lopez died 10 days after an incident that took place at a bank in Welwyn Garden City

The woman accused of killing an 82-year-old with Alzheimer's by pushing her over in a bank told a jury she was acting in self-defence.

Courtney Richman, 26, has been on trial for the manslaughter of Myra Coutinho-Lopez, 82, at Luton Crown Court.

She said she acted instinctively when the elderly woman "whacked" her on the back with her hand bag at Lloyds Bank in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire.

Ms Richman, of Queen's Avenue, Welwyn Garden City, denies manslaughter.

She also denies an alternative, lesser charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Courtney Richman denied swearing or shouting at the pensioner

Ms Richman said customers were queuing outside the bank after the pensioner had been in an argument with a cashier.

The 26-year-old told Luton crown court on Monday that she told Ms Coutinho-Lopez: "We've all got things to do and there are people behind you and you are holding us all up."

She clapped as another customer moved Mrs Coutinho-Lopez away.

It was then, she said, the elderly woman said: "Your man must have left you" and "you should get a man".

Asked by her barrister Claire Davies KC why she pushed her, she said: "Because she had just hit me and I thought she was going to do it again. I did not expect her to go to the floor."

Mrs Coutinho-Lopez died on December 16 2021, 10 days after she ended up on the bank floor.

Ms Richman told Luton Crown Court that she was acting in self defence

Ms Richman told the jury other people in the bank were getting "restless".

The defendant said the victim refused to move aside, describing her as "quite annoyed", before telling the bank employee to 'call the police, I'm not going anywhere'.

She denied she had ever shouted or swore at Ms Coutinho-Lopez and had been feeling impatient as the victim had been asked again to move on but was still refusing.

Ms Richman described the amount of force she used as reasonable and said she told the 82-year-old: "I am not your punchbag."

The next day she returned to the bank to carry out the transaction she was unable to complete before, but was escorted into a small room by a plain-clothes police officer.

Her barrister asked her: "As far as you are concerned, did you do anything to lead to being hit?" to which Ms Richman said "no".

She said she did not mean to cause the victim any harm, but having been hit once thought it would happen again.

'Confused and bewildered'

Asked about the death of Ms Coutinho-Lopez she added: "I feel terrible, I think about it every day since it has happened and I feel very sorry that she is no longer here."

She agreed with prosecution barrister Martin Mulgrew that if she thought money had gone missing from her own bank account then she would have expected to take as long as she needed.

The prosecutor said witnesses had described the victim as confused and bewildered. He asked Ms Richman if it was clear that Ms Coutinho-Lopez had a cognitive problem.

"No," she replied, "it wasn't obvious to me."

Mr Mulgrew suggested she had become angry with the victim because of her personal comments, to which Ms Richman replied that she was merely frustrated

He suggested the defendant had "upped the ante" by sarcastically applauding because she "thought it would be funny". Ms Richman said that she was not being sarcastic.

Mr Mulgrew put to Ms Richman that the handbag swing had not caused her any alarm and that pushing the elderly lady was an "angry retaliation" but the defendant was adamant that she was not angry and that the push was in self-defence.

The trial continues.