HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Police said a care worker at a nursing home for people with Alzheimer's disease and dementia stole jewelry from elderly patients in Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County.
Renetta Shipp, who worked at Walnut Ridge Memory Care on Route 119, was arrested in connection with the case.
"As soon as it was discovered, we were contacted by the facility. They cooperated 100 percent with the investigation and were able to furnish information to us about who was responsible for this," Trooper Jeanne Martin said.
State police said Shipp pulled a gold ring off each of two patients -- a 93-year-old woman and a 59-year-old woman -- while putting them to bed.
Shipp also allegedly stole five rings while helping 88-year-old Josephine Keibler shower, police said.
"She said, 'I have my watch, but I don't have any rings. Where did my rings go? I can't find my rings,'" said Keibler's daughter, Patricia Kaskan.
WTAE Channel 4's Jennifer Miele reported that Keibler was featured in a local newspaper a few years ago when she married her high school sweetheart 70 years after graduation.
"She wore on her left hand the rings he gave her, which were a wedding band and three diamonds -- the past, present and future," Kaskan told Miele. "And with all these rings, I'm not sure -- thousands of dollars."
Police said the 45-year-old Shipp pawned the rings at Direct Jewelry Outlet on Route 30 in Jeannette sometime last month.
The rings are gone and it's very unlikely that they'll be recovered, police said.
Shipp was charged with robbery and theft, Miele reported.
A Walnut Ridge statement said the home acted quickly because "our administration and staff cares very deeply for our residents and their families ... who entrust us with their care."
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