Elm Terrace Caretaker Waives Felony Theft Charges to County Court

A Hatfield woman accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of jewelry and cash while employed as a caretaker at Elm Terrace Gardens in Lansdale waived her preliminary hearing at the District Court of Judge Harold Borek Tuesday afternoon.

Diane Witynski, 55, of Hatfield Village Apartments, filed Sept. 24 to waive her hearing, according to court records.

Witynski faces four felony charges of theft by unlawful taking and four felony charges of receiving stolen property, filed against her by Lansdale Police for four theft incidents at the Lansdale nursing home at Seventh and Broad streets.

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.