Tulsa police arrested a home health aide and her boyfriend accused of robbing a 74-year-old woman in her home.
According to investigators, Rikkeita Strong was one of the nurses hired to care for the victim, but instead she and her boyfriend entered the victim’s home in the middle of the night and attacked her.
The victim tells us that she feels violated by the very people she should be able to trust. We have agreed to protect her identity.
She says she has multiple health problems, can barely walk and requires 16 hours of care at home. She was lying in bed in the middle of the night trying to sleep when a masked man came into her bedroom and threw a sweater over her face.
“He pressed it over my eyes, put both hands on my nose, stuck his fingers in my nose and covered my mouth,” the victim said.
Tulsa Police Robbery Detectives arrested Rikkeita Strong and her boyfriend Brett Bills after the two stole jewelry and medical marijuana from the victim. The victim said when Bills threw the sweater over her face, she thought she was going to suffocate.
“I took his fingers out of my nose and said, ‘Please don’t hurt me, take what you want,'” the victim said.
Police said they later learned that at least 30 different caregivers had been in and out of the victim’s home. When they began investigating these caregivers as possible suspects, they came across a very similar case in January.
“Two people were charged with theft, but the modus operandi was exactly the same: The woman was a home health aide and had worked in another victim’s home. Over time, jewelry and other items began to disappear,” said Lieutenant Justin Ritter of the Tulsa Police Department’s Robbery Unit.
Police say in this case, the victim installed security cameras in his home and filmed Bills and Strong rummaging through drawers. Police then learned that the two suspects had pawned jewelry at a local pawn shop, including the current victim’s distinctive vintage ring.
“The victim is so vulnerable in a case like this. For someone to come in and just exploit them, knowing they’re vulnerable, and not only take their things, but put a blanket over their face and use it as a weapon. That’s the worst thing I can imagine,” Ritter said.
Lieutenant Ritter says if there are more victims, they should report them to the police. He also advises families to do their research before hiring someone to care for their loved ones.
