The housekeeper sounded intoxicated.
Jim Thompson and his wife needed a new housekeeper. They lead busy lives and needed someone to help out.
He used a respected website where people who clean homes advertise for work, and interviewed potential workers. Thompson found a woman he thought trustworthy and then conducted a background check. Everything seemed OK, and she soon began working for Thompson.
A week and half later, things got a bit messy. Thompson’s wife came home when the housekeeper should have been there. Some drawers had been rifled through, and several pill bottles were missing, including vicodin and hydrocodone, as well as $600 in cash. The housekeeper was not there and sounded intoxicated when reached on her cell phone. She admitted to taking the drugs, police report.
“She just kind of went wild,” Thompson says. “Some of the medicine was 12 years old. I guess she just went off the deep end.”
Thompson, who conducts interviews as part of his work running a financial services firm, did not expect something like this to happen, but understands there is always an element of risk when you employ someone to work in your home. He found the whole situation sad because she was arrested, and has small children and, apparently, a drug problem.
North Central Police Lt. Richard Dwyer says that the employee came from out of state and was relatively new to the area.
“Anytime a homeowner contracts with someone to be in their home, especially if they are absent from home, the homeowner should ask for references,” Jones says.
Jones recommends following up with references for their opinion of the person, her work and her trustworthiness.
Crime Numbers
12
Number of incidents that occurred around the apartments along Central Expressway between Walnut Hill and Royal during a one-month period, including:
3
thefts
8
car burglaries
1
assault
Source: Dallas Police Department crime stats from Nov. 8-Dec. 8
