Arrest made in hospital deathbed theft

TORONTO, March 19 (UPI) -- Toronto police have arrested and charged a man with stealing jewelry from a dying woman in a hospital and are seeking a second suspect.

The theft occurred Tuesday night as the family of an 83-year-old woman was out of her room getting coffee. The unidentified woman died of brain cancer as police arrived to investigate the theft of about $7,000 worth of jewelry at the Toronto East General Hospital, the Toronto Star reported.

Isaac Lewkowitz, 29, was arrested Wednesday night in Ajax, east of Toronto. His alleged accomplice, Marcos Marinoni, 26, was still being sought Friday.

Police allege the pair also trolled four other Toronto-area hospitals for helpless victims in the past two months, the Star said.

The woman chose to wear her jewelry because her home had been robbed during an earlier hospital stay, police said.

Widely circulated hospital security camera images of the two suspects led to a flood of tips from the public, police said.