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Maureen Whale, 77, phoned 999 to report two men had walked into her house and stolen her handbag just “two minutes ago”. She was shaking, finding it hard to breathe and could not speak.

The operator can be heard calling Maureen’s name and telling her “hang in there please” but she stopped replying. 

Police arrived minutes later at her home in Barnet, north London, where her family had lived since 1928, and she collapsed. 

Barnet Coroner’s Court today heard Maureen had a cardiac arrest and was taken to Barnet Hospital, where she suffered a second cardiac arrest.

Maureen, a former air hostess, died 12 hours after the burglary, on December 5, 2018.

The coroner heard one man climbed over a side fence gate at Maureen’s house to let two other men in.

The two men entered the house through an unlocked side door while the third acted as a look-out, the inquest heard today.

Hearing the last phone call made by my aunt is extremely distressing but we hope that, by releasing this to the public, someone somewhere will be moved to come forward with information

Maureen’s niece Gina

Maureen’s handbag was stolen but was later recovered nearly half a mile away, stuffed in a hedge on the outskirts of Ravenscroft Park.

Pathologist Dr Ashley Fegan-Earl said in a post-mortem report: “In light of the comments made she has not been directly assaulted and there are no injuries indicative of a third party injury or restraint.”

He said Maureen was a heavy smoker and suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and coronary heart disease.

The inquest heard these conditions could be “destabilised” by “stressful events”. 

Detective Sergeant Russell Duke told the coroner the investigation was ongoing but the Met Police wished for the inquest to go ahead.

The case was featured on BBC’s Crimewatch with the Met Police offering a £20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest of three suspects.

DS Duke said: “The investigation is still ongoing but we are currently at the point where we do not have any suspects identified at the moment. Forensic samples have been viewed by the forensic science service with no leads around DNA currently. 

“We are still open with the reward to identify the three males involved but that’s really where we are at the moment. 

“The CCTV is out there. There’s been an appeal for information about who the three males are, and the inquiry is still active with us trying to identify who the three males are. Currently there’s been no people arrested.”

Senior coroner Andrew Walker asked DS Duke: “Last time we were waiting for DNA analysis – did that prove helpful?”

DS Duke said: “That did not prove helpful. Currently the tests we have done – they haven’t identified a suspect at this time.”

The detective confirmed the police would seek charges of burglary and manslaughter if the suspects were identified. 

Senior coroner Andrew Walker recorded a conclusion of “consequences of a burglary” and said Maureen died as a result of cardio-respiratory arrest and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in association with coronary heart disease.

He said: “On 4 December 2018 shortly before 6.04pm three men were seen to enter Maureen Whale’s address. 

“One climbed over the fence to let the other two through a gate. Two entered the address through an open side door. 

“They were in the address for about four minutes and had taken Maureen Whale’s handbag. Maureen Whale, who suffered with a lung and heart condition, collapsed during a phone call to police reporting the burglary at her home.

“She was taken to hospital where she died despite treatment the next day. It’s likely the burglary caused Ms Whale’s death.

“It seems to me more likely than not were it not for the burglary, Ms Whale would not have died when she had.”

During the police appeal last year, Maureen’s niece Gina said: “My aunt had lived in Bells Hill since she was a little girl. To her, it was home. The fact someone broke into somewhere she felt secure is just tragic.

“Hearing the last phone call made by my aunt is extremely distressing but we hope that, by releasing this to the public, someone somewhere will be moved to come forward with information.

“No one deserves to die in this way.”

Gina paid tribute to her “independent” aunt, who never married or had children but lived an adventure-filled career as an air hostess, and later a librarian and medical secretary.

Maureen survived the Blitz despite a bomb going off near her home and continued living at the family home even after the death of her mother, Gina’s grandmother, about 25 years ago.

Although Maureen had suffered with some poor health, she did not have any help around the house and enjoyed shopping and going to church, Gina said.

Detective Chief Inspector Noel McHugh said during the appeal the burglars were “clearly experienced thieves” and worked as a team to target several homes in the area that evening. 

He said: “Maureen died for the few pounds that were in her purse, which is truly wicked and mindless.

“She was a fiercely independent lady and so adventurous travelling the world in her younger days; it is just awful she should die in such circumstances in the home where she had lived her entire life.”

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