By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer
Long before she came to work for Margaret Murta and Mary Corcoran, Barbara Clark – the Pittsboro housekeeper accused of fatally beating her former employers – had preyed on elderly people.
Clark, 41, has been accused of attacking Corcoran, Murta and Rebecca Fisher, 77, in a Galloway Ridge apartment on December 5, after the women confronted her about stolen checks. She was charged with two counts of murder after Corcoran, 82, and Murta, 92, died from injuries sustained during the alleged beating.
The elderly population is too often targeted by criminals, and older people must know how to protect themselves, said Art Englebardt, an officer with the community services division at the Chapel Hill Police Department.
“You can’t leave your door unlocked anymore like you used to,†he said. “You’ve got to be very aware.â€
The charges aren’t the first to come against Clark. In 2001, Clark pleaded guilty to stealing more than $5,000 from a 90-year-old man who lived at the Durham retirement home where she worked.
She was then ordered not to work for three years where she would have access to elderly people’s property.
In September, Clark was charged with forging more than $12,000 in checks over three years. She allegedly stole the checks from former employers, a Chapel Hill family.
Retirement homes and communities usually do background checks of potential employees. But because Clark was employed by Corcoran and Murta, rather than Galloway Ridge, her previous charges were not discovered.
Elderly people often hire people to work in their homes, and they can be targets for criminals, Englebardt said.
“Anytime you’re going to hire someone, especially someone for personal care in your house, do a background check,†Englebardt said.
Individuals can request a background check from www.nc123.com – which can carry a $20 fee – or contact the local clerk of court for records, Englebardt said. He added that individuals might also ask potential employees to provide their own background checks.
“One of the key things that we stress is trust your instincts,†he said. “If something seems wrong, most likely it will be wrong.â€
Older people are also often targets of financial scams, Englebardt said. People pose as representatives of credit card companies, banks or Medicare and ask individuals for financial information.
“No one who has your information is going to ask you for the same information,†Englebardt said. “They have it.â€
For instance, he said, a credit card company will never ask someone for their credit card number, nor will a bank ask for an account number.
“Social Security and Medicare are not going to contact you,†Englebardt said. “Not on the phone. They may send an official letter, but even that you should check out.â€
For more information about protection against scams and criminals, contact the Chapel Hill Police Department Community Services Division at 932-2929.
women are forbidden to be treated equaly as men. this applies to background checks of anykind thats why women slip the crimnal systems cause they dont have to be regestered for any kind of job or guns
As a job candidate or employee, your privacy rights are protected by several laws. According to BackgroundSearch.com, these laws include:
1. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
2. The Driver’s Privacy Protection Act.
3. The American with Disabilities Act (ADA).
4. Different states have different legal frameworks, such as the Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act which exists in California.
But other private people that are not an employer, landlord, or offering credit, then they can run a http:backgroundsearch.com on anyone with very few restrictions.