The horrific details of how an eccentric farmer was left to die emaciated and malnourished after being swindled out of his estate by a callous conwoman have emerged.
Vulnerable David Cooper, 51, had always craved female company and was taken in and exploited by Sonia Crabb.
After moving into his £1-million (about R12,6-million) farmhouse home, Crabb made Mr Cooper live in squalor in a dilapidated barn with no cooking facilities.
An inquest heard that when he died Mr Cooper was so malnourished his ribs and pelvic bone were protruding.
A post mortem examination showed he was dehydrated, hadn't eaten properly for some time leading up to his death and had dropped to eight stones in weight.
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Crabb, 33, is currently serving a 27-month prison sentence after being convicted of conspiracy to steal from Mr Cooper.
She appeared at the inquest into his death and denied ill-treating the farmer.
When asked why she had not been concerned about Mr Cooper's weight loss she replied: "I thought he was one of those people who used to eat a lot and never put on weight."
Bachelor Mr Cooper had inherited Hardings Farm in Buckhorn Weston, Dorset, from his father but had always wanted a woman to look after him.
Crabb had first approached him in 2004 with the offer to care for his horses but their "friendship" grew and she eventually moved into the farmhouse.
Soon after she moved boyfriend Tony Junge, 31, and their children in and over a 20 month period they persuaded Mr Cooper to sell off parcels of his 190 acre farm.
The pair spent £90,000 on renovating Mr Cooper's £640,000 farmhouse and blew £200,000 on luxury items including four pick-up trucks, a large LCD TV, a Rolex watch and two horses.
When he had nothing left to give the couple moved him in to the squalid barn that was linked to the main house until the couple bricked it up.
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