SHAMOKIN - A 43-year-old licensed funeral home director charged with stealing $30,000 from an elderly Coal Township woman waived her right to a preliminary hearing Tuesday morning and remains on free on unsecured bail.
Heather Gober, 43, of Barnesville, was ordered by Magisterial District Judge John Gembic III to appear for plea court Oct. 21 at Northumberland County Courthouse, where she can plead guilty or no contest, or seek a trial by pleading not guilty.
Northumberland County Public Defender Melissa Norton, who represented Gober at the brief legal proceeding, did not reveal if the defendant will be offered a plea agreement. Gober reserved comment before exiting the courtroom.
Assistant District Attorney William Cole prosecuted the case.
Gober, who was well dressed for the hearing, is charged by Coal Township Detective Jeff Brennan with felonies of burglary, criminal trespass, theft and receiving stolen property in connection with a June 14 incident at the Springfield home of an 82-year-old woman, whom police did not identify.
Gober, who was employed at Leonard J. Lucas Funeral Home Ltd., Shamokin, prior to her arrest, is accused of befriending the victim after her husband died and stealing $30,000 in cash from a strong box hidden in the widow's home.
The defendant, who turned herself over to authorities Aug. 19, admitted to stealing the money and has already made full restitution to the victim, police said. She was terminated from her position at the funeral home on the same day of her arrest.