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Thousands of Euros Up in Smoke

Guilt-Ridden Thief Burns Evidence

A thief who had pangs of guilt about pinching several thousand euros from her employers decided to burn her ill-gotten gains. The police managed to track her down and say she was relieved to be able to confess.

The guilt at having stolen a large quantity of cash appears to have been too much for one particularly remorseful thief in southern Germany. She decided to destroy the evidence -- burning several thousand euros.

The 31-year-old culprit had pilfered the money from her employers' safe, police in Nuremburg said on Tuesday. She left the money with a friend in mid-August but later returned, racked by feelings of guilt, and decided to burn the ill-gotten gains in a pot. She then scattered the ashes in a field.

However, she hadn’t done quite enough to destroy the proof of her crime and police later discovered traces of banknotes in the field and managed to track her down. A police spokesman said that the woman had been "visibly relieved" at having been caught and being given a chance to make a full confession.

smd -- with wire reports