Rich Crime

Memorial housekeepers accused of stealing $500,000 in jewelry, felt couple trusted them too much

Two Houston housekeepers are accused of stealing more than $500,000 worth of jewelry from a couple at a Memorial-area assisted living facility.

Thirty-three-year-old Rebecca Castaneda, who worked for the victims since 2006, is now charged with felony theft.

Police tell KHOU that Castaneda relinquished two bags of jewelry when confronted with her crime, but most of the items she stole had already been pawned or melted down.

Criminal records show police linked 48 different pawn slips to Castaneda's friend, who was also a housekeeper.

Castaneda reportedly had problems pawning all the jewelry herself as she didn't have a valid ID, so she used a friend to facilitate selling the pieces.

Criminal records show police linked 48 different pawn slips to Castaneda's friend, 43-year-old Sylvia Cordova, who was also a housekeeper at The Forum at Memorial Woods where the victims live.

Cordova was caught going into the victims' apartment on surveillance video in November. She is also charged with felony theft.

Police were able to recover several of the stolen items from pawn shops and have returned them to the victims.

Police say Cordova believed Castaneda thought she would never be caught since she had worked for the couple for so long and felt that they trusted her, according to reports.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”