Thief of cancer patient ring gets 6 months in jail — at victim's daughter's request

Eight months after stealing a terminal cancer patient's ring right off her finger in the hospital, and two months after pleading guilty to that crime, Caitlyn Mulaney was sentenced to six months in jail on Monday. NEWS10's Zion Decoteau was the only TV reporter in the courtroom.

ALBANY, NY (NEWS10) — Eight months after stealing a terminal cancer patient's ring right off her finger in the hospital, and two months after pleading guilty to that crime, Caitlin Mullaney was sentenced to six months in jail on Monday, on charges of 4th degree grand larceny. NEWS10's Zion Decoteau was the only TV reporter in the courtroom.

Last August NEWS10 brought you the story of Tricia Fitzpatrick — a terminal lung cancer patient who went to Albany Med last July for a CAT scan and had her ring stolen. Fitzpatrick died on September 11, 2023. During her sentencing hearing on Monday, Mullaney apologized to her deceased victim.

“I wish she was here, so I could literally look her in the face and apologize," Mullaney said.

But then the defendant said: “It wasn't like I, you know, searched her. I didn't know she was dying. I didn't know she had cancer but that really doesn't make a difference here.”

Judge Andra Ackerman wasn't too pleased, saying Mullaney minimized her actions. “This court was ready to go to trial with respect to this matter, I definitely felt that state prison was appropriate in this matter,” said Judge Ackerman.

So if the judge thinks six months in jail isn’t enough — why did Caitlin Mullaney receive such leniency? Because Kim Perrella, the daughter of the deceased victim, agreed to it.

"I personally have had family members deal with addiction abuse and other difficult situations in the past. So when this first happened, I figured one of those might have been the reason for this heinous act. I felt for not only my family but her family as well," Perrella said in her victim impact statement.

Perrella's mercy comes from something her mom told NEWS10's Zion Decoteau in August 2023, two weeks before her death: “I…don't have time for malice," said Fitzpatrick. She later expressed that she wanted the ring for her daughter Perrella to remember her by.

But Perella let it be known that the sting of Mullaney stealing her mother's ring is still felt today.  “I held out that Caitlin would feel for her children's best interest, her family, or even ours and tell us the truth in the beginning, or at least before my mother died. But this never came" Perrella testified.

That sting made worse because Mullaney untruthfully told police she tossed the $4000 diamond ring in a field, knowing it was melted down for $120. Its stones represent Fitzpatrick’s children — one of whom died. It was the only possession she carried upon relocating from California, to be closer to her daughter in Albany as she received treatment. 

“I would give a million dollars to have that ring back right now,” Parrella said emotionally.

The judge ordered Mulaney to pay $4000 in restitution for her crime, including $375 in fines. Her incarceration begins today at the Albany County Correctional Facility. Mulaney testified that she initially lied about the ring’s whereabouts to protect someone else (most likely involved in this case). She also did not give a clear reason for stealing the ring in the first place. Meanwhile, Perrella says Albany Med has not contacted her about their employee Mullaney’s theft at their facility.