Racine caregiver charged after stealing $39,000 worth of jewelry from elderly woman

RACINE Wis. (CBS 58) -- A Racine woman is now facing charges of felony theft - crime against an elderly or disabled person following a theft that happened back in May.

According to the criminal complaint, the victim's family called the police to report that jewelry was taken from their mother's home located in Caledonia. According to the family, the mother has dementia and was placed in a care facility back in February. Family members began noticing the jewelry missing in May. 

During the course of the investigation, police learned that the victim returned home from the care facility and began receiving care through People Care shortly before the thefts were noticed.

Officers identified Malta Valle as a potential suspect. A pawn shop check was conducted and it was learned that Valle had pawned the jewelry in May.

Valle admitted to police that she took some rings and necklaces from the victim's residence and pawned them because she needed money for an apartment so that she could get her children back.

The value of the stolen jewelry was determined to be $39,330,00.