(FOX 13) DENVER – A temporary frontline worker stands accused of stealing an engagement ring from a patient at an assisted living facility in Denver, Colo., who died of COVID-19.
Prosecutors said Elizabeth Daniels, 29, also used the woman’s credit card to purchase a vehicle the day the woman passed away. Daniels faces charges of theft from an at-risk victim over $500, identity theft, providing a false statement to a pawnbroker and criminal possession of a financial transaction device.
Prosecutors said Daniels pawned the engagement ring belonging to Barbara Gust, 86, who lived in the memory care wing at Carillon at Belleview Station, “an upscale senior living community offering a continuum of care services including independent living, assisted living and memory care.”
Gust passed away on April 15 as a result of COVID-19. As of Tuesday, April 28, 17 positive cases of COVID-19 were reported at the facility, along with six deaths. Health officials reported 11 staffers at the facility infected with the coronavirus.
As Gust’s family was making arrangements with the funeral home and getting Gust’s affairs in order after her passing, they noticed there had been activity on several of her credit cards after her death.
Additionally, the family said Gust had fallen, and required hospitalization, and during a visit, they noticed she was no longer wearing her engagement ring, valued at $20,000 to $25,000…
The engagement ring was found at a pawn shop, and prosecutors said police confirmed the person who pawned it was Daniels.
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