Elm Terrace Caretaker Charged With Felony Theft

An caretaker has been arrested by Lansdale Police and charged with felony theft of jewelry and money from four elderly residents at the Lansdale nursing home.

Diane Witynski, 55, of Hatfield Village Apartments in Hatfield Township, is charged with:

• Four felony counts of theft by unlawful taking
• Four felony counts of receiving stolen property

Police arrested Witynski on Sept. 1, police said.

Police said on four dates in late July and early August officers took theft reports from four separate residents of Elm Terrace Gardens.

In three of the thefts, jewelry was stolen estimating $5,380, police said.

The fourth theft involved the stealing of $80 in cash, police said.

All thefts occurred in the rooms of elderly victims, police said. 

A check of the employe schedule revealed that Witynski was the one employee working all four dates when the thefts occurred, police said.

Witynski was hired in June 2012.

Lansdale detectives began checking jewelry stores and pawn shops for the stolen jewelry.

During these investigations, it was discovered that Witynski had been selling jewelry to a Hatfield Township jeweler, police said. 

On August 29, Witynski allegedly sold jewelry to the jeweler, which was identified by one of the victims as their stolen property, police said.

Witynski was arraigned before District Judge Harold Borek of Lansdale, who set bail at 10 percent of $5,000. Witynski posted bail that day police said.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled before Borek on September 25.