Texas caregiver faces murder charge after a patient died - and she could be tied to 19 more deaths
Regla Becquer was arrested after police began investigating over a dozen suspicious deaths under her care
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
A Texas woman who operated an illegal home-based healthcare business has been charged with murder after one of her patients died – and now investigators say she could be connected to at least 19 additional deaths.
Regla “Su” Becquer was first arrested in February after Arlington police began investigating over a dozen suspicious deaths at her unlicensed company, “Love & Caring for People LLC,” which operated out of five homes in Tarrant County.
Last Thursday, Becquer was charged with the murder of 60-year-old Steven “Kelly” Pankratz, a patient who died while in her care after the Tarrant County Medical Examiner ruled his death a homicide by a lethal mixture of painkillers and antidepressants.
Investigators later revealed at a press conference that the drugs in Pankratz’s system had never been prescribed by doctors.
Before Pankratz died, he had slurred speech and said he’d been given handfuls of pills, according to court documents.
Out of the 20 suspicious deaths that have occurred under Pankratz’s care since September 2022, an autopsy was performed on just one patient – Pankratz, police said.
“A lot of them were cremated or bodies donated to science or buried,” Arlington Police Detective Krystallyne Robinson said. “That makes it very difficult.”
Disturbing details in the arrest affidavit revealed that a 53-year-old woman told Arlington authorities that she was being held by Becquer against her will and that the conditions of Becquer’s home were so bad, she slit her wrists.
The woman, who has cerebral palsy, diabetes, and can only move her arms, said she slit her wrists just so she could get emergency crews to the house. It’s unclear when the incident took place.
“After everything we’ve learned, I think it’s clear to say she did not love or care for anyone,“ Lt. Kimberly Harris of Arlington police said.
“We were deeply concerned about what we saw in these homes and what we had heard up until that point. Today, I am here to tell you that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”
Investigators also found evidence of Becquer taking possession of her patients personal property, including their phones, cars, and houses.
One man who died after a suspicious decline in his health, had fraudulent charges to his debit card, his family later discovered. Another patient, who died in 2022, left a handwritten will that gave Becquer control of her assets.
Becquer is being held at the Tarrant County Jail on a $1.5 million bond.