The trial of a woman accused of killing a pensioner in a Welwyn Garden City bank has heard the defendant saw "red mist" descend before pushing the victim to the floor.

Courtney Richman, of Queens Avenue in Welwyn Garden City, denies manslaughter and an alternative lesser charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm, following the death of 82-year-old Myra Coutinho-Lopez.

She died on December 16, 2021, 10 days after she had been pushed to the floor of Lloyds Bank in Howardsgate.

Prosecutor Martin Mulgrew told the jury of seven men and five women at Luton Crown Court, that the incident took place on the afternoon of Monday, December 6 as a queue of customers developed.

Mrs Coutinho-Lopez was a regular at the bank and was well known to the staff, but she suffered from Alzheimer’s and often forgot she had been in to withdrawn money.

She had gone to the bank at 2pm on December 6, having forgotten she had taken money out on the previous Friday.

"Mrs Coutinho-Lopez became worried and asked the cashier to show her the balance. She was told she had withdrawn money the previous Friday. She became more confused and said she hadn’t," prosecutor Martin Mulgrew told the court.

With just one cashier on duty and a queue of customers growing, defendant Richman allegedly demanded Mrs Coutinho-Lopez "move out of the way" and “hurry up - people don’t have all day".

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Another customer, who had been using a cash machine, offered to help the elderly woman, but as she walked the 82-year-old away, Richman is alleged to have said "oh thank God", before sarcastically applauding.

When Mrs Coutinho-Lopez passed Richman in the queue she told her: "Don’t speak to me like that - you are very rude." She also swung her handbag and struck the defendant.

And that's when Richman lashed out at the victim, with prosecutor Mulgrew continuing: "The defendant reacted in a wholly inappropriate and unreasonably violent manner.

"She angrily pushed Mrs Coutinho-Lopez forcefully to the floor of the bank. She struck the floor with some force.

"The red mist descended on this defendant and she reacted in a wholly inappropriate fashion to this vulnerable old lady.

Mrs Coutinho-Lopez suffered fractures of her left upper arm and thigh bone and bruising to her left upper arm, wrist, the tops of her fingers, around her rib cage and flank. She died in hospital 10 days later.

"If you push an 82-year-old woman to the floor of a bank there is going to be some risk," Mr Mulgrew continued.

"The prosecution say she unlawful assaulted her and as a result of the fractures fatty substances were released in her body that caused damage to her lungs and brain."

Following her arrested in the same bank just a day later, Richman told police that after Mrs Coutinho-Lopez struck her with her handbag, she was "shocked and instinctively pushed her away. I feared she was assaulting me. I used open palms".

The trial continues.