Prosecutors drop Nazi-dagger theft case after Crestwood victim dies

CLAYTON — This spring, a widow's caretaker stole an extensive collection of Nazi knifes, Samurai swords and other weapons, prosecutors said.

Then, three days after the caretaker was arrested, the widow died. And now prosecutors are dropping the charge.

The family of Francoise Hoffman is upset.

"People can pretty much steal from anybody who is about to die, and when they die they can't technically prosecute them," her daughter, Stephanie Wilder, said on Friday. "I don't think that's right. You're still stealing."

Allishia Robinson, of Jennings, was accused in early October of stealing more than $150,000 worth of valuable items as an in-home caregiver at three patient homes this year. Police say she stole jewelry from a Creve Coeur home. They also say she stole jewelry, silver dishware and other items from another Creve Coeur home.

And they say she emptied out an armoire that was home to Hoffman's collection of Samurai swords, Nazi daggers and other weapons.

The collection, estimated to be worth about $13,000, belonged to Hoffman's late husband, an avid military weapons and memorabilia collector. Prosecutors said Robinson stole the items when she came to Hoffman's home, in Crestwood, for the first and only time as a Visiting Angels home caregiver to look after Hoffman and put her to bed.

The weapons were pawned to Alamo Military Collectables for $3,000, and could not be recovered, police said. Wilder said it was all sold at a Tulsa, Oklahoma, gun show shortly after Alamo bought the weapons.

Hoffman, 93, died Oct. 5, Wilder said. Her memorial service was Friday.

Wilder said she received a call from a detective earlier this week notifying her the charge against Robinson would be dropped.

Chris King, a spokesman for the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney's office, said attorneys can't prosecute the Crestwood case because they needed Hoffman to testify.

"We would need the victim to testify to two things," King said. "One, that it was her property, and two, that she did not consent for the defendant to take it away from the house."

King said this testimony is required because of the 6th Amendment Constitutional right to confrontation. The clause says criminal defendants have the right to confront "witnesses against them," especially for the purpose of cross examination.

Wilder said she had power of attorney for her mother at the time of the theft, but King said that was not legally sufficient.

The caretaker's second case is expected to continue.

In the first charge in that case, police said she stole more than $90,000 worth of jewelry from the Creve Coeur home. The victim, who did not want to be named publicly, told the Post-Dispatch that Robinson came to her home as an Amada Senior Care employee to take care of her husband from 10 p.m. to 10 a.m. She worked in the home for a little over a month.

In the second charge, police say Robinson stole from an 88-year-old woman. The items, which included jewelry and silver dishware, were valued at more than $52,000.

The three thefts happened between April 16 and Aug. 27, prosecutors say.

Robinson was arrested on a $250,000 bond. A judge last week declined to reduce her bond, according to online court records.

She does not have a defense attorney listed.

The cases are set for a preliminary hearing Monday.

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