APD Files Murder Charge as Investigation into Unlicensed Community Living Homes Continues
Through the course of the investigation into unlicensed group homes being operated by Regla Becquer and her company “Love and Caring for People LLC”, the Arlington Police Department became aware of a concerning number of clients who died after staying in one of her homes.
Detectives have identified more than 20 clients of Ms. Becquer who’ve passed away since September 2022. They began looking into the deaths to determine if any of them were suspicious or even criminal in nature.
It’s important to note the majority of the deaths occurred months before APD’s investigation began -- and many of the deceased clients had already been cremated, buried, or had their bodies donated to science, making it challenging to probe their deaths more thoroughly.
Investigators did, however, learn about one client -- 60-year-old Steven “Kelly” Pankratz -- who died more recently and had an autopsy performed by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Mr. Pankratz was living at one of Ms. Becquer’s homes in the 7400 block of Lake Whitney Drive. On January 12, 2024, he was found unconscious inside the home and was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled that his cause of death was Mixed Drug Toxicity.
A family member of Mr. Pankratz told detectives one of the last times they spoke to him, he indicated that Ms. Becquer would give him a handful of unknown pills twice a day.
Following a lengthy review of Mr. Pankratz’s medical records, the Medical Examiner’s Office determined the drugs in his system were not prescribed to him and had not been used in any medical procedure he’d received – and they officially ruled his manner of death as Homicide.
Based on this information, as well as other evidence in the case, detectives filed one count of Murder against Ms. Becquer in connection to Mr. Pankratz’s death.
She remains in custody at the Tarrant County Jail where she has been held since her arrest in February 2024 on endangerment charges related to this investigation. Her bond has been set at $1.5 million.
ORIGINAL RELEASE
The Arlington Police Department, in partnership with the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, is asking for the public’s assistance as part of a major investigation into multiple unlicensed community living homes being operated by a company called “Love and Caring for People LLC”.
The owner of the company, 49-year-old Regla “Su” Becquer, was recently arrested on one count of Abandoning / Endangering an Individual Imminent Danger of Bodily Injury. She is currently being held at the Tarrant County Jail on a $750,000 bond. Additional charges are pending the outcome of the ongoing investigation.
Love and Caring for People LLC purports to serve adults who require daily supervised personal care. Over the past several months, the Arlington PD Behavioral Health Law Enforcement Unit (BHLEU) has investigated multiple allegations of abuse, neglect, theft, and fraud connected to Ms. Becquer and her company’s community living homes.
Investigators believe Ms. Becquer and her staff did not properly care for the clients staying at her homes, prevented clients from seeking medical attention, attempted to cut off all communication between clients and their families, made purchases using clients’ debit cards without their knowledge or consent, and maintained possession of deceased clients’ property including phones and vehicles.
The department has identified multiple potential victims in this investigation and is currently aware of five properties connected to Love and Caring for People LLC:
- 1210 Woodbrook Street in Arlington, TX
- 7411 Lake Whitney Drive in Arlington, TX
- 7419 Fossil Creek Drive in Arlington, TX
- 2059 Turtle Cove Drive in Mansfield, TX
- 1852 Hidden Brook Drive in Grand Prairie, TX
Investigators are currently working to determine whether there are additional victims and / or community living homes they do not yet know about. They would like to speak to any current or past clients of Love and Caring for People LLC and / or clients’ family members – and are asking them to call a special tip line that has been set up at (817) 575-3230. This is a voicemail only line that will be monitored daily. Those who call the tip line should leave a voice message with their contact information so a BHLEU officer can follow up with them.
“We’ve learned about some very concerning things occurring within these homes and we want to ensure that no victims are falling through the cracks,” said Chief of Police Al Jones. “If you or a loved one has spent any time in one of these homes -- or knows of any other locations this company may be operating out of – we need to know. Fortunately, our investigation has resulted in multiple clients being pulled from the homes so they can receive the legitimate care they need. But there may be others we need to help.”
“Our current information on this matter indicates that multiple cities within our County could be affected by this investigation and we join the Arlington Police Department in requesting the public’s assistance so that we ensure we are thoroughly assisting any and all of those affected by the suspected wrongdoing of Regla Becquer,” Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells said.
At this point, Ms. Becquer has only been charged in connection to one case involving one client.
Police News Release, Police, Public Safety