A woman accused of stealing money from an elderly woman she once cared for is now behind bars.

  • Caregiver accused of stealing money from blind elderly woman
  • Cristine Martinez admitted to stealing $160 from Jeanna Beder, 83
  • Beder claimed $200 stolen on one occasion & $800 on another

Investigators said Cristine Martinez, 31, admitted to stealing money from 83-year-old Jeanne Beder who is legally blind and needs a caregiver to help her around her home.

“I had the Visiting Angels here because I was having trouble seeing because one eye is totally black and the other eye is going, so I had the Visiting Angels here to help me,” Beder said.

Jeanne Beder, 83, contacted police after she said $200 was stolen from her during a visit from a Visiting Angel. (Leah Masuda, staff)

Visiting Angels is an in-home healthcare provider. Beder used them back in May and had Martinez as a caregiver. Beder said Martinez came to visit this past Monday because she was worried about Beder.

“One of the angels came back and said she was concerned and worried about me, that’s why she stopped over,” Beder said. “She was only here for a very short time and she wanted to use the bathroom, which is next to the room where I had the money.”

Beder said the next thing she knew, Martinez was gone and so was $200. She said this isn’t the first time this has happened.

Beder said back in May when the Visiting Angels visited, $800 went missing but she had hoped the company would resolve it.

“I kept thinking that they would give it back, I kept going back to Visiting Angels administration and I thought that they would get it back for me,” she said.

This time, however, Beder went to the police.

“I just want the money back. It’s so much money and I don’t want them to go to people’s houses like they just did to me,” Beder said.

Investigators said they’re looking into the additional money that went missing. Martinez only admitted to stealing $160.

Bay News 9 also reached out to Visiting Angels and have not heard back. Officials said Martinez was an independent contractor for the company.