PARKER TWP — A caretaker is accused of taking pain medication from a woman recovering from surgery at her home.

Elizabeth M. Kightlinger, 42, of Ambridge, Beaver County, faces a hearing next month on misdemeanor charges of theft and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription.

State police on Thursday charged Kightlinger in connection with the investigation that began Aug. 24, when they were called to the victim's home on Kittanning Pike.

The victim told investigators that the defendant was providing her at-home care while she recovered from recent leg surgery, according to court documents. Kightlinger at the time was employed by a private home care provider.

Police said the resident reported seeing the defendant “steal some of her medication and put it in her purse,” according to court documents.

The victim retrieved the medication, identified as 10 pills each of the painkillers Vicodin and Dilaudid, and contacted authorities. Kightlinger allegedly admitted taking the pills.

The defendant claimed “she did not mean any harm,” documents said, “and took the medication due to an addiction.” She acknowledged she made “a bad choice.”

Her preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 16 at the office of District Judge Lewis Stoughton.