A woman has been arrested for fraud after she offered to sell a heart to a mother whose son was dying in hospital.
Maria del Carmen A.R. a 45 year old woman with no previous police history, initially made contact with her intended victim, a mother whose 19 year old son was dying as the result of a bacterial infection, on the false pretext that her own son was also in the hospital. After several days gaining the confidence of the mother, she made the suggestion that a solution to the problem could be the use of a donor heart from an eminent doctor friend of hers in America, the cost of which would be €10,000. She then put the mother in telephone contact with this so-called friend in America.
Three days later however, in February 2008, the son died in hospital. After discovering that the heart offer had been an attempted fraud, the family of the boy warned Maria del Carmen that they would be reporting her to the police and she fled the hospital.
An investigation by the National Police eventually led to the arrest of Maria del Carmen A.R. who, after testifying before the court, has been conditionally released from custody.