The Tarrant County Coroner is currently investigating the death of another person involved in unlicensed group shelters in Arlington and Mansfield. Earlier this month, the death of a 60-year-old man was ruled a homicide, officials said.
Arlington police are investigating the deaths of 20 people linked to the boarding houses of Regla Becquer and her company Love and Caring for People LLC.
According to Detective Krystallyne Robinson, most of these individuals had already been cremated, buried or had their bodies donated to science when the investigation began. Police are only aware of two autopsies, Robinson said at a news conference Wednesday.
According to Robinson, the results of one of the autopsies are still pending.
On June 20, Becquer was charged with the murder of Steven Pankratz after the medical examiner determined his death was caused by mixed drug toxicity from trazodone, tramadol and mirtazapine.
Police say Pankratz was never prescribed trazodone, an antidepressant and sedative, and Becquer is accused of giving him “handfuls” of pills every day.
Pankratz died Jan. 12 at Methodist Mansfield Medical Center, according to the medical examiner’s website. He was transported there from one of Becquer’s homes, located in the 7400 block of Lake Whitney Drive in Arlington.
Becquer was first arrested in February on charges of abandoning or endangering a disabled person creating imminent danger of bodily harm.
She and her associates have been accused of failing to properly care for patients, of giving them unnecessary medications, of not being able to seek medical attention, of not being able to talk to family members, of using their debit and credit cards, and of they use people’s phones and cars. who died, according to affidavits in support of search and arrest warrants.
Officer Chris Powell, who has been with the Arlington Police Department for more than 20 years, said the case was “extremely disturbing.”
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Powell said at Wednesday’s news conference. “And we just had to dive in and keep going and keep going.”
The investigation into the deaths of the 20 people in Becquer’s care is ongoing. While the fact that many of them were cremated or their bodies donated to science makes the investigation more difficult, Powell said no one will be overlooked.
“Every person on that list will be fully investigated to the best of my ability,” Powell said.
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