Nursing home receptionist stole from residents
BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Monitor Editor
STARKE— A 38-year-old Starke woman was sentenced to 14 months in prison after she pleaded to stealing money from 13 residents of Riverwood Health and Rehabilitation Center.
Amanda Brooke Murrow pleaded no contest to the July 2018 offenses of identification theft, fraud and larceny.
According to court papers, the administrator at Riverwood investigated a complaint by a resident about discrepancies in the victim’s facility-maintained cash account.
The administrator told Starke police that a $30 withdrawal was made on the resident’s account on July 17, 2018. The manager added that the resident did not request the withdrawal, and the receipt for the transaction was signed by Murrow.
The administrator then uncovered six additional suspicious transactions in the resident’s account, totaling $75.
“(The victim) stated she thought the balance in her account was off and that she should have had more in it,” wrote Detective Samantha Clark in a warrant affidavit.
Clark added that several days later, the administrator said there was evidence of an additional 15 victims at the facility.
“(The administrator) advised that the staff had interviewed numerous residents in regard to deductions for their trust accounts,” wrote Clark, “and found that many were not valid. As before, the receipts were all signed by Amanda Murrow.”
The manager added that more victims were likely, however, the thefts could not be proven because the residents could not remember which transactions they initiated.
When interviewed by Clark, Murrow, at first denied the allegations telling the detective: “I know in my heart what I did and didn’t do.”
Clark wrote that she told Murrow she had enough evidence to arrest her but wanted to give her the opportunity to explain herself.
“At that time, Murrow stated, ‘I mean, I was just trying to look out for my kids,’” Clark wrote. “She then explained that she had just gotten her children back, wasn’t prepared and had nothing.”
Clark added that Murrow said she spent the money on clothes, groceries and a bed.
The State Attorney’s Office ultimately filed charges against Murrow, listing 13 victims.
