Middleboro Police: Worker Stole From Elderly

MIDDLEBORO (CBS) - When Middleboro Detective Simmone Ryder first started digging, she knew an elderly couple in her town had been fleeced by an in-home health care worker.

Now, Det. Ryder is finding more victims. "We could have more in Brockton, East Bridgewater and Abington."

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Mary Blake reports.

The suspect is 37-year-old Debbie Belcher of East Bridgewater. Police said she was hired by Home Instead Senior Care to help the elderly...instead, she began robbing them.

WBZ-TV's Bill Shields reports.

First, it was the Sergio family of Middleboro.

Now, the family of 80-year-old Joe Guarino of Brockton says he was one of Belcher's victims. They fired her in December, after they discovered she had stolen money and jewelry from the elderly veteran. "And she acutally took him with her to run her personal errands...and she stole from his home, " says Guarino's son-in-law Larry Runey. "We tried to notify the A.G.'s office in December, but it went nowhere. Now we find out that Belcher has made victims out of several elderly people she was supposed to be caring for."

How was it that Belcher was discovered? An alert antique store owner suspected Belcher had stolen jewelry and silverware, and called police.