Wilkinsburg woman stole more than $30K from elderly couple, DA's office says

A Wilkinsburg woman who was supposed to be taking care of an elderly Braddock couple stole more than $30,000 from them to buy alcohol, wedding bands and gamble at several casinos, the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office said Wednesday.

Barbara Jean Davis, 46, turned herself in to detectives from the DA's office on Wednesday.

She is in the Allegheny County Jail awaiting arraignment.

The couple — a 78-year-old man who uses a wheelchair and his 58-year-old wife who is blind — hired Davis in 2007 to assist them with everyday needs such as grocery shopping, running errands, daily maintenance and light cleaning, according to a criminal complaint.

For more than two years, Davis used the couple's PNC debit card to pay for their needs, but also to withdrawal money and gamble at Rivers, Mountaineer, The Meadows and Wheeling Island casinos and to buy a child's mattress and wedding bands, detectives said.

Detectives also allege Davis illegally made herself the beneficiary of the husband's $10,000 life insurance policy.

Detectives began investigating Davis in January after a fellow caregiver noticed money was missing from the couple's bank account a few months earlier.

Adam Brandolph is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-391-0927 or abrandolph@tribweb.com.