Cops: Pa. woman killed mother, robbed bank with kid in car
PITTSBURGH - Sarah Vercauteren, a Pennsylvania woman, is accused of killing her mother - but police only started putting the pieces of the puzzles together after she was arrested for robbing a bank, reports CBS Pittsburgh.
Last week, Vercauteren was reportedly caught on surveillance camera robbing a bank in Versailles, Pa., reports the station. A criminal complaint says she passed a note to the teller claiming to have a gun and demanding $20 bills. She reportedly got away with $320.
Police say she tried to rob the Subway sandwich shop near the bank earlier in the day but was told the attendant couldn’t open the register, reports the station.
She was eventually arrested at a traffic stop in McKeesport and police reportedly discovered she left her 2-year-old son unattended in the car during the robberies.
It was only after she was arrested at that point that police began to link her to the beating death of her mother, according to the station. Police say Dawn Wagner was beaten 18 times with a hammer and strangled on New Year's Eve in her Salem Township home.
State police say Wagner wouldn't let Vercauteren use her car and that is what led to the murder, reports the station. They allege she dragged her mother to the bathroom where she bound her with duct tape so she couldn’t escape.
Vercauteren is scheduled to appear in court in Westmoreland County Friday to face homicide charges. She is already charged with attempted robbery and robbery, reports the station.