Theft victim might never leave nursing home
Posted on 07/30/2002 2:06:27 AM PDT by MeekOneGOP
Theft victim might never leave nursing home
Her cherished wedding ring was cut off her hand by attackers
07/30/2002
Mary Tucker doesn't know why she lives in a nursing home. A week and a half ago, she lived alone in her house and had a friend who checked on her daily.
She sometimes remembers two men breaking down her door and cutting off her finger to steal the wedding band she wore for nearly 70 years.
All Mrs. Tucker, 90, knows is that she wants to go home. Her best friend is afraid to tell her she never will.
"It's really taking a toll on her," longtime friend and caretaker Becky Smith said. "I don't think she'll ever be able to go home."
Mrs. Tucker had fought a move to a nursing home for years, and the decision to keep her there has been difficult, Mrs. Smith said.
COURTESY Mary Tucker's wedding band, which her attackers cut off her finger, was made up of three bands welded together. |
Irving police are searching for the men who twice beat down the door to Mrs. Tucker's home to steal from her. They say the pattern matches no other crimes in the city in the last few years.
Schepps Dairy offered a $10,000 reward Monday for information leading to the arrests and indictments of the robbers.
Monday, police also released a photo of the clasp and a drawing of the white gold ring that has three bands and three main diamonds. About 13 other diamonds of various sizes are set into the ring.
The men first came to Ms. Tucker's home in the 500 block of South Wildwood Drive about 3:30 p.m. July 18. They kicked in the front door and stole a money pouch that Mrs. Tucker kept in her pocket, police said. They also stole a power washer from a trailer in her back yard.
Mrs. Smith's husband, John Smith, replaced the front door, and the couple stayed with her until she told them she was fine.
A day later, the men returned about 7:30 or 8 p.m. and kicked in the new front door, police said. They immediately bound her and tried to take off the ring. They then cut off her finger with scissors and left Ms. Tucker tied and bleeding in a back room of her house.
COURTESY The ring had been fitted with a clasp to fit over her swollen, arthritic finger. Police say the ring could have been easily removed without violence. |
The ring had been fit with a clasp to fit over Mrs. Tucker's swollen arthritic finger. Mrs. Smith and police say the ring could have been easily removed without violence.
The Smiths, who began helping Mrs. Tucker after a 1996 cataract surgery, found her that night.
The men may be driving a silver and blue, newer model pickup that was seen outside Mrs. Tucker's home the day of the first robbery, police said.
Mrs. Tucker told police that the men were in their 30s and thin. Mrs. Smith said she wondered whether they could be younger because her friend has bad eyesight.
The community's response to Mrs. Tucker's ordeal has been heartwarming, Mrs. Smith said. Pictures, cards and flowers have been sent to Mrs. Tucker's home. Mrs. Smith delivers them each day to the nursing home.
While Mrs. Tucker loves smelling the flowers and looking at the pictures drawn in crayon, she doesn't grasp why people send them to her, Ms. Smith said. Mrs. Tucker, who raised 15 foster children but has none of her own, especially loves the drawings from children.
"Mentally, she's gone down," Mrs. Smith said. "But physically, she stable. That's the best way to put it."
She told Mrs. Smith to keep the cards together "so I can remember to take them when I go home," her friend said.
Mrs. Tucker's health declined somewhat Friday and Saturday but has improved, Mrs. Smith said.
Police ask that anyone with information about the robberies or the men's whereabouts call detectives at 972-721-2518.
E-mail jemily@dallasnews.com
Mrs. Tucker told police that the men were in their 30s and thin.
Uh, white, black, brown, yellow, green men from Mars, what? I swear, what passes for reporting these days is laughable.
Dairy Offers Reward For Capture Of Ring Robbers
According to police, the two suspects are described as skinny, white or Hispanic, possibly driving a silver and blue, newer model, pickup truck.
The bastards need to die for this crime, imho.
I'm afraid you're right in a way. I worked in several and one had a patients $10K+ ring went missing one night. She had a private duty sitter as well with her. I've also known those unfit of the honor to serve others. 99.9% of the employees are there because they like the work. There are other jobs requiring a lot less labor, skill, patience, & stress, that pay a lot more. One such place that pays more usually is McDonalds.
You like working with the patience, you learn in most cases to despise the company running the place for it's lack of standards in care {undermanning and underfunding}, and somewhere along the line you decide either to stay or leave.
Well, son.............thanks for playing. May I suggest our beginner level game?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
