AN IRISH great-grandmother died after she was viciously punched by a female robber at her home in Coventry, England.
Philomena Keane, 75, who relied on an oxygen supply, passed away in hospital less than two months after the appalling assault two years ago.
Danielle O’Neill pretended she was a police officer to persuade Mrs Keane to open the front door of her flat in Coventry at 4am on June 27, 2015.
O’Neill, 31, punched Mrs Keane in the face after entering her home.
Mrs Keane, a much-loved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, suffered a stroke the following day and died six weeks later in hospital.
Last week, O’Neill was jailed for just 30 months for robbery at Warwick Crown Court after prosecutors convinced the judge there was no proven link between the vicious attack and Mrs Keane’s death.
Mrs Keane’s family have blasted O’Neill’s sentence, branding it “a final insult”.
Her heartbroken daughter Helen, 48, said: “Her neighbour called me to say she was being attacked – at that point I thought she was dead.
“We went straight up there and she was in a neighbour’s flat. It was a relief to see she was up and standing.
“At that point I didn’t really believe what was happening.
Danielle O'Neill received just 30 months in jail for robbery (Picture: BPM Media)“Who punches a 75-year-old woman, who is on oxygen, in the face? Why did she have to do that?”
Helen – who is one of four siblings – says that Mrs Keane was too scared to return to her flat in the aftermath of the attack, and instead stayed with Helen.
However, disaster was set to strike the very next day.
“After going to the hospital, our mum didn’t go back to her flat as she was too frightened,” explained Helen.
“She stayed with me the next day and then she had a stroke and fell and broke her hip.
“She was in hospital for six weeks and even in there she was scared as she thought this woman was going to come and get her.”
Mrs Keane, who was born in Ireland and moved to Coventry in the 1950s, never got to see her attacker sent to jail over two years after the attack.
Helen and her sister Barbara attended court every day of the trial except when O’Neill took to the stand, as they couldn’t bring themselves to watch her “Oscar-winning performance".
Mrs Keane moved to Coventry in the 1950s (Picture: BPM Media)Barbara, 57, said: “It was horrible to go to court. Even just to be searched on your way in and then to come face-to-face with her (O’Neill).
“I never understood why she didn’t admit it.”
Helen added: “We heard our mum’s interview being played which was quite harrowing. But we couldn’t face her being on the stand.
“It was great that the jury found her guilty and we were upbeat then, but it still didn’t feel like closure.
“On the day she was sentenced we were relieved that it wasn’t a suspended sentence, but she could still be out in 15 months – it’s not long enough.”
Their brother Bernard added: “We are still in shock two years on. You hear about these things happening on TV, but you think it will never happen to your own mother or family.
“It’s scandalous that she (O’Neill) will be out getting on with her life and we have the rest of our lives thinking about it.
“This girl has shown no remorse and lied all the time. The final insult is the sentence that she was given.”
