A FORMER prison officer took her own life after an inmate she befriended in a young offender institution plundered more than £6,000 from her savings.

Prosecuting at Bournemouth Crown, Thomas Horder said Karen Mulliner had met Michael Grey at Rochester prison in 2007.

“He was 20 and she was in her mid-30s. After his release and she had left the Prison Service they started a relationship. Miss Mulliner separated from her husband and they set up home in Christchurch; their relationship was kept secret from her family.

“Miss Mulliner got a job as a domestic violence support officer at Poole borough council while Mr Grey worked part-time as a cleaner.”

But their relationship turned sour and on July 19, 2010, Miss Mulliner told Grey she didn’t want it to continue. He sent her abusive text messages and threatened to tell her parents about their relationship.

Grey moved to Essex and when Miss Mulliner hadn’t heard from him she contacted his sister in August of last year.

Mr Horder added: “She told Miss Mulliner there was a photograph of him on Facebook showing him holding up a wad of £20 notes.

“When she checked her bank accounts she found paperwork and a cash card relating to her savings account were missing.”

Miss Mulliner was shocked to discover that £300 had been taken from the proceeds of the sale of her matrimonial home every day for three weeks.

Grey, 23, admitted fraud between August 10 and August 31, involving £6,300 from cash machines in the Essex area.

In a statement, Miss Mulliner’s council boss said she had been tearful and told him it was “the last straw.”

Mr Horder said Miss Mulliner had committed suicide just days later on September 13 last year. Grey was arrested on October 4.

Defending, Kieran Galvin said his client had refused to leave Chelmsford prison, where he is serving a 30-month sentence, adding: “This young man was seriously troubled by drugs.”

In his absence, Judge Samuel Wiggs jailed Grey for eight months.