Woman accused of stealing $20,000 worth of jewelry while cleaning homes in Chicago suburbs

A woman from Chicago's northwest suburbs has been accused of stealing $20,000 worth of jewelry from her house cleaning clients.

Sandy Hernandez, 38, of Hanover Park is charged with three felony counts of burglary, according to the DuPage County State's Attorney's office.

Prosecutors said she stole jewelry from three homes in Glen Ellyn in December while cleaning clients' houses in between November and January.

On Dec. 2, 2024, a homeowner in Glen Ellyn reported that a Cartier gold and diamond ring, a gold charm necklace, and other jewelry valued at a total of about $7,900 had been stolen from her home sometime after Nov. 19, 2024.

On Jan. 5, another Glen Ellyn homeowner reported that approximately $10,000 worth of jewelry had been stolen from her house sometime after Dec. 30, 2024 – including a 14 karat gold engagement ring with a 3 carat diamond, a 14 karat gold wedding ring, and more than a dozen other pieces of jewelry.

On Jan. 15, a third Glen Ellyn woman told police that $2,500 worth of jewelry had been stolen from her home sometime after Dec. 6, 2024 – including two gold rings and other jewelry.

Investigators later determined Hernandez had stolen all of the jewelry while cleaning the victims' houses.

Hernandez was arrested on Tuesday and made her first court appearance on Wednesday, when a judge allowed her to be released from custody on the condition that she not have any contact with the victims, and not work any other jobs that require her to enter someone else's home.

She is due back in court on May 5.