Family blames burglars after woman dies of brain bleeds weeks after robbery

The family of an elderly woman who died from multiple brain bleeds soon after a home invasion fear the stress of the incident robbed her of her “last years of life”. 

Nobody has been charged with assaulting the 87-year-old, but her family believed the brain bleeds had developed as a result of the robbery, and that she would likely still be alive if it weren’t for the frightening experience. 

The woman’s Lower Hutt home was robbed on July 20 by three intruders who made off with the occupant’s car and other valuable possessions. 

An hour later, police arrested the suspected burglars after finding them inside the parked, stolen car. 

In a police press release about the incident, Hutt Valley Area Commander Inspector Wade Jennings referred to a single “victim” and said no one was hurt. 

Police confirmed the victims came to a station two days after the incident to give evidential interviews, during which they did not reference being assaulted. 

Following the publication of the story, the Herald was contacted by a man who said his grandmother Margaret Biggs and his great-uncle lived at the property when it was invaded. 

Jack Biggs said his grandmother was “extremely sharp” and “incredibly independent”, and still cared for her 84-year-old brother. 

About 48 hours after the incident, Margaret became disoriented, experienced headaches and began vomiting, Jack said. 

She was taken to Wellington Hospital on July 23, where doctors found she had three brain bleeds. 

According to Jack, doctors believed one of the three bleeds resulted from some form of physical impact. Police received no evidence to suggest an impact had happened during the robbery. 

Jack said he was aware she was on heavy blood thinners, which could increase the risk of a brain bleed, or exacerbate its effects. 

She was admitted to hospital for 12 days, during which she dropped in and out of consciousness, and her condition worsened. 

Jack said his grandmother died on August 4 after her brain bleeds “slowly killed her”. 

He blamed the burglars who invaded Margaret’s home for the chain of events that led to her death, saying “they have robbed her of her last years of life”. 

Speaking for his family, Biggs said: “We are confident she would still be sitting in her home now if the incident hadn’t occurred. 

“Whether from the incident or a result of it, they have still caused this in our opinion.” 

Jack wondered if, alongside anything that could have occurred in the “chaos of the moment”, the mental trauma of the invasion also impacted Margaret’s health. 

“I have no doubt in my mind this has caused Nana’s downfall, sadly. I also feel her age allows people to sweep it under the carpet as if ‘oh well, she was old’.” 

Jack said his grandmother was a teacher and had been community-oriented, and what had happened to her was “sickening”. 

Anecdotal evidence linked mental trauma to bleeds – expert 

There are several causes for brain bleeding, Neurological Foundation chief medical adviser Dr Neil Anderson told the Herald. 

He said one cause is an injury from a blow to the head, which could result in a traumatic brain haemorrhage. 

Another cause could be cerebral amyloid angiopathy, a brain disorder that can cause spontaneous brain bleeding. People over 60 were more susceptible to this disorder, he said. 

Multiple simultaneous bleeds were more likely to indicate physical trauma had occurred, he said. There was no evidence that was the case here. 

Anderson said he could not comment on the specifics of Margaret’s case, but said there was some anecdotal evidence to suggest brain bleeding could be linked to mentally traumatic events. 

“I’ve seen people where some very stressful event can cause a stroke, including a bleed. 

“Anecdotally that does occur, but it’s pretty hard to prove because it’s uncommon.” 

Anecdotal evidence meant there was no established link to show stressful incidents did cause brain bleeds. 

Anderson said it was “not totally inconceivable” for Margaret to be able to give evidence at a police station in the days after the invasion while she had a small bleed in her brain. 

Janhavi Gosavi is a Wellington-based journalist for the New Zealand Herald who covers news in the capital.