Health Aide Accused Of Stealing From Andover, Peabody Patients

PEABODY, MA — An Essex County grand jury indicted a Lynn woman who wrote checks from the accounts of an 85-year-old Peabody woman and an 82-year-old Andover man while working as their home health aide. Vanessa Delarosa, 28, who also used the last name Avalo, is accused of writing more than $43,000 checks to pay bills, as well as checks she made payable to friends. Prosecutors say she used the account to pay for her daughter's daycare and the excise taxes on her cars.

The family of the Peabody woman hired Delarosa through Freedom Home Health Care. She worked for the family from until last May, when the woman's niece went to Peabody police with bank records showing more than 40 checks for nearly $43,000. Before charges were filed, however, Delarosa found a placement with the Andover man through a Haverhill-based agency. She started working for him in July and is now facing separate larceny charges for stealing from him.