Family seeks answers after Medford nursing home resident's jewelry goes missing following her death
Rick McGuire said his mother, Judith McGuire, died July 9 at Medford Multicare Center. When he arrived to collect her belongings, he noticed that several rings she regularly wore were missing.
A Long Island family is demanding answers after a woman died at a Medford nursing home and several pieces of her jewelry allegedly disappeared, with only some of the items later recovered by police.
Rick McGuire said his mother, Judith McGuire, died July 9 at Medford Multicare Center. When he arrived to collect her belongings, he noticed that several rings she regularly wore were missing.
"When she passed, she had multiple rings on both hands, probably eight to 10," McGuire said.
McGuire said his mother's final wish was to be buried wearing both her own ring and her late husband's ring.
"I said, like, ‘Where is her rings?’" McGuire said. "Because her final wishes were that she wanted to be buried with her ring and her husband's ring."
According to McGuire, he searched through nearly 50 boxes containing his mother's belongings and reviewed photographs showing her wearing the jewelry, but was unable to locate any of the missing items.
"I just want to have her wishes granted," he said.
McGuire said he contacted staff at the nursing home, including a supervisor, and also spoke with the funeral director. Despite those efforts, he said he was unable to recover the jewelry before his mother's burial.
More than a month later, police arrested Jessica Karoutsos, an employee at the nursing home, alleging she possessed some of the stolen jewelry.
McGuire said police recovered only a portion of the missing items from a pawn shop. He is now hoping investigators can locate the rest.
"If you go to a nursing home, you would think that they take care of you and they would watch out for her stuff and her wishes," McGuire said. "But that's not the case here."
Medford Multicare Center declined to comment when News 12 reached out.
