Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

LAPLACE, La. (WGNO) — Detectives with the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office arrested a woman accused of stealing money from an elderly couple whom she was hired to take care of.

According to the SJSO, 34-year-old Demyra Willis, of Baton Rouge, was arrested on Tuesday, April 7, and booked on the following charges:

12 counts of exploitation of the infirmed (felony)

12 counts of forgery (felony)

12 counts of bank fraud (felony)

12 counts of identity theft (felony)

Investigators reported that Willis was hired by the victim’s son as an in-home healthcare worker to help assist his 82-year-old father take care of his sick wife two years ago in April 2024.

In the next month, the victim’s son said he was alerted by the bank about “possible fraudulent activity” on his dad’s checking account.

According to detectives, Willis allegedly forged and cashed checks that she made payable to herself and withdrew cash from the victim’s account without his knowledge or consent. These transactions reportedly occurred between April 15, 2024, and May 6, 2024, with the alleged stolen amount of money totaling $3,250.

At this time, Willis is being held in the St. John Parish jail under an $80,169 bond.

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