NANTICOKE – Authorities arrested a third person for their alleged role in a home burglary on Thanksgiving night, just a few blocks away from the scene of a homicide.
Police said Janice Hempel was locked up on receiving stolen property and conspiracy charges late Monday afternoon.
Janice’s brother, Shane Hempel, and Earl Hoopingarner, were arrested over the weekend for allegedly breaking into a home on Enterprise Street.
Investigators told Newswatch 16 that detectives are looking for any possible connections between the burglary and the homicide of 97-year-old Gertrude Price.
Officers said the crimes likely happened just a few hours apart on Thanksgiving night in Nanticoke.
Richard Belmont said he and family members are optimistic that someone will provide a tip that will lead police to the person who killed the great-grandmother.
“We want the right people caught. We’re not vigilantes. But they have to be caught and justice has to be done,” said Belmont. “I’m sorry but they’re not religious. They don’t have no feeling for people, no feeling for life. It’s a very sad thing that you would do something like that to an older lady; a lot of jewelry taken.”
Business owners and residents in Nanticoke have donated more than $8,500 into a reward fund for information that leads to the arrest and conviction in the homicide case.