Christina Ankney, Murrysville, Pennsylvania nurse’s aide arrested prying off dementia patient’s engagement and wedding rings to sell at pawn shop.
Does it get any more despicable? A Pennsylvania nursing aide is facing felony charges after cops say she pried off jewelry from a dementia patient only to then go pawn off the items at a local pawn shop.
Christina Ankney, 39, of Braddock is accused of forcibly removing the victim’s engagement and wedding rings from her hand while she was under her care at the Redstone Highlands Retirement Community in Murrysville.
Come Wednesday afternoon, Ankney was arrested and loaded into a police cruiser with the nurse’s aide refusing to answer reporter’s questions, WPXI reported.
Caregiver betrays patient
Murrysville detective Matt Panigal said the victim has dementia and a hand condition, CBS News reported.
‘It is disheartening especially when you trust in your caregivers to care for your loved ones during the end of their lives,’ Panigal told the outlet.
‘The victim was elderly. She suffered from dementia and she has a hand condition where her hands were always clenched shut,’ Panigal added. ‘It would be painful for her. It’s painful for her whenever she has opened up her hands.’
Panigal said Ankney took the rings to Fat Pocket Pawn in North Versailles and sold them for $464 on June 4th.
According to court documents, the victim’s daughter reported her mother’s rings missing on Aug. 11.
Family members said the cared for patient hadn’t taken the rings off in recent years after her husband died. Police say they couldn’t have fallen off.
Patient never took off rings
‘For the past several years since the death of her husband, she had religiously worn her ring every day. And because of her condition, she wasn’t able to take it off of her hand by herself,’ Panigal said.
Murrysville police said they were able to track down the rings and confirmed with the pawn shop that Ankney was the individual who sold them.
According to court documents, she presented her ID to the shop owner when she sold them.
‘Family members don’t ever see their jewelry back in cases like these. The pawn shops, the jewelry centers, they don’t keep them very long. They either sell them off or melt them down. So, for a victim to be able to get their jewelry back, that’s a rare occurrence,’ Panigal said.
Other victims? Nurse’s aide has prior federal indictment
Ankney worked as a contracted nursing aide through Dedicated Nursing Associates and was hired by Redstone Highlands to assist in patient care at the local retirement home.
Panigal said Ankney is also on federal probation for charges she faces after an incident as a postal worker.
Ankney was charged with a federal indictment in March, in which she is accused of stealing mail addressed to a Murrysville recipient while she was employed by the U.S. Postal Service in 2022.
John Dickson, CEO of Redstone Highlands said his staff worked swiftly to assist the family and police with the case.
‘It’s saddening to us that this occurred and that it happened to an individual that can’t defend themselves,’ Dickson told CBS Pittsburgh.
He said Redstone Highlands does background checks, but charges don’t appear, likely clearing Ankney.
‘We are going to make restitution as soon as we can and build confidence with the family on our caring abilities,’ the CEO said.
Police said they’re now investigating the possibility of other victims.
Ankney remains held behind bars at the Westmoreland County Jail on a $10,000 straight cash bond.
She’s due in court on September 5 for her charges in Murrysville. She will be in court on the charges in North Huntingdon in October.
