Caretaker Convicted Of Fraud
submitted by Heather Chu
Polk: Sheriff Andrew Marduke arrested Marvell Rea, a Hopkins Grove woman, last month on charges of fraud and forgery. She had been employed by Wanda Marcus as house keeper and live-in companion for over 25 years. For the last four years, Wanda was confined to bed due to a long battle with illness. Ms. Rea took care of Wanda's business affairs and had access to all her accounts and credit cards.

    

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Wanda Marcus's skeletonized body was dutifully tended by her live-in companion, Marvell Rea, in the house for two years.
Problems arose for Marvell when Ms. Marcus' estranged former daughter-in-law came to visit. Jenny Adams had married Wanda's son ten years previous. She had been driving while intoxicated when her car slammed head long into a combine, leaving her husband decapitated. For years afterward,the two women never spoke. Plagued by guilt, Jenny finally determined to see the old woman and make peace. But Wanda had already found hers.

     When Marvell took Jenny to Wanda's room, the young woman was horrified to see Wanda's skeletonized body lying on a quilt, its empty sockets staring at the ceiling. "You all go on and have a nice visit, I'm sure Ms. Wanda will be glad to see you," Marvell reportedly said, "you put this unpleasantness behind you and get on with your lives!"

     Perhaps Wanda's death disturbed Marvell so that she continued believing her employer was still alive, or she simply feared the consequences of being out of work if her employer's demise were discovered. For at least two years, the 58 year old house keeper has stayed in the home, tending to the corpse's needs, writing checks worth $270,000 from her employer's bank account, ordering mail-order items in her name, and forging and cashing her Social Security checks.

    





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