Assault victim threw stone through window of funeral parlour

Henry Warrener, 35, smashed the front glass at Jayne Prior Funeral Directors in Chester Road – and reached in and grabbed two display urns. Warrener, of city centre Park Place East, also made off with an LED sign reading ‘LOVE’ and a glass ornament.

In their place, at 1.30am on Thursday, May 26, he left behind splashes of his own blood, magistrates in South Tyneside heard. It dripped from a serious head injury jobless Warrener had received while being attacked hours earlier. He committed his crime for no apparent reason after wandering from Sunderland Royal Hospital, where he was being treated.

Prosecutor Stephanie Cook said: “At 5pm on May 25, the premises were locked and secured. At 1.30am the next day, the owner received a call to say that the premises had been broken into. There was a large hole in the front window and several items had been stolen from a display. There was blood where the items should have been.”

Warrener, who has five previous convictions, including four for theft and the last in 2019, pleaded guilty to burglary.

Val Bell, defending, said: “The background is slightly unusual. On May 25, Mr Warrener was the victim of a serious assault. It resulted in him being left in an unconscious state and with a serious head injury. He was taken to the hospital, which is next to Chester Road.

“He has very little recollection of what happened. It would appear that he possibly left the hospital for a cigarette, and then left the hospital grounds. Staff alerted the police. For whatever reason, which he can’t explain, he threw a stone through the window. He can’t remember it.

“The blood has, presumably, come from his head injury because he was covered in blood. When he got home the police and ambulance were waiting to take him back to hospital.”

Magistrates described the case as “unusual” and accepted Warrener’s injury meant he may not have been intentionally targeting the funeral directors. They fined him £80 and ordered him to pay compensation of £255. There were no court costs.