Shirley Jean Bennell admits to stealing more than $90,000 of items from shops across WA over eight months

A 29-year-old woman stole more than $90,000 of items from businesses across WA in eight months. Shirley Jean Bennell admitted to stealing from various businesses between June 2024 and February 2025, including more than $11,000 in lingerie and other items on one day and $10,000 of sunglasses on another. The majority of the thefts related to make-up, clothing, perfume, bags, sunglasses and alcohol, and totalled more than $90,000. Bennell pleaded guilty to 28 charges of stealing, multiple driving without authority charges, and a breach of bail when she appeared in Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court on Monday. She did not enter a plea to a charge of assault occasioning bodily harm from June 21 in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, the details of which were not read to the court. A pre-sentence report was ordered ahead of her sentencing date in August.