An Oil City woman and Cooperstown man are facing charges for stealing cash and jewelry from a couple in Frenchcreek Township.
Franklin state police said in a criminal complaint that Shellie Bell, 51, and her boyfriend, Tracy Frankenberger, 57, came to stay at the Frenchcreek couple’s home last Christmas Eve to care for the woman’s husband while she was out of town.
The man Bell and Frankenberger were caring for was hospitalized Dec. 31, and while he was still in the hospital several days later he told his wife, who had returned from her travels, to check to make sure Bell didn’t steal the $700 to $900 in cash he had in a box in the living room as he didn’t trust Bell and Frankenberger, the complaint said.
When his wife checked the box, she found the cash was missing and when she went through their house, she discovered that things had been moved in the upstairs of the home and that some jewelry was missing, the complaint said.
It was discovered Bell had sold a large amount of jewelry to a store in Meadville on Jan. 2 and that some of the jewelry sold matched the description of the stolen jewelry, the complaint said.
Bell was charged with felony counts of theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property, and Frankenberger was charged with felony counts of conspiracy-theft by unlawful taking and conspiracy-receiving stolen property.
Their preliminary hearings are scheduled April 10 in Venango County Central Court.
