4 North Texas Families Accuse Nanny Of Theft

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ALLEN (CBSDFW.COM) - Tensions rose as soon as Rebecca Tautfest opened the door. She and her husband immediately began asking Judith Burress, the woman standing at their front door, what she had done with some of their personal things.

"We're well within our rights to ask her if she can give us those things back," said Tautfest's husband.

The Allen homeowners asked Burress where their missing belongings were. "Did you bring the rest of my stuff?" said Tautfest.

"That's not what this is about," said an attorney standing with Burress. "This is for her to pick up her stuff and not talk about the case." Burgess had arrived with an attorney and a moving van to remove her personal belongings from the Tautfest home.

In December, Tautfest hired Burress as a nanny. She allowed her to live in their upstairs room. But soon, Tautfest said, she began noticing things around the house disappearing. "These are just some of the items I found buried in her stuff," said Tautfest, showing the CBS 11 News I-Team a bin full of clothes, headphones and other personal belongings.

Tautfest said that, a couple of weeks ago, she finally decided to search Burress' room, and that's when, she said, she found dozens of her family's personal belongings hidden. "This was a brand new sweater I had gotten for the holidays," said Tautfest, pulling a grey wool pullover out of a bin.

Tautfest said, as she looked in the room where Burress stayed, she began to question if Burress owned several of the items she kept there. Tautfest took pictures of some of them, and then began contacting some the families that Burress used to work for. Tautfest said that some of the families confirmed that prescription drugs, a ring, some hospital scrubs and a military metal had been stolen from them.

The Tautfests contacted the Allen Police Department and on January 14. They arrested Burress on theft charges.

Out on bond, Burress had returned to the Tautfest home with a lawyer and a truck to move out. "We trusted you," said Tautfest, as she closely watched Burress pack up her things.

Two other families told CBS 11 News that they have also filed police reports claiming Burress had stolen personal items from them. Those families have filed incident reports in Fort Worth. The I-Team has also learned that a Frisco family filed a theft report there, accusing Burress of stealing from them.

Burress' attorneys told her not to talk to Tautfest while she cleaned out her stuff. They gave her the same advice when she walked out and the I-Team tried to get her side of the story.

CBS 11 News Senior Investigative Reporter Ginger Allen asked, "Why are these families accusing you of working for them and then taking their things?" Burgess did not look up at Allen. "Please, tell me your side of the story. Are all of those things yours? I want to understand?" said Allen. Burgess did not respond. She got into her car and left the moving van and her things behind.

Burress' attorney, Scott Palmer, sent the I-Team a statement saying, "What is being reported is only half the story and we look forward to trying this case in a courtroom rather than on television."

The grand jury will now hear the case in Allen. Meanwhile, Fort Worth and Frisco police are still investigating the claims by the three families who filed there.