Berks County nursing home employee accused of sharing photos of deceased residents

LEESPORT, Pa. - A Berks County nursing home employee is facing charges after she was accused of taking pictures of dead nursing home residents and sharing them.

Authorities say Stephanie Thomas, 28, took the pictures at the Berks Heim Nursing Home and then shared them with her friends and coworkers.

Court documents obtained by FOX 29 show Thomas has been charged with three counts of abuse of a corpse.

Investigators say they were tipped off to Thomas’ alleged activities by staff at the nursing home after they received an anonymous letter about Thomas, a certified nursing assistant, sharing the photos of deceased residents.

The anonymous source took screenshots of the messages allegedly sent by Thomas and matched the messages to her phone number.

Authorities say Thomas admitted to sending the photos in a preliminary interview with police, claiming the only sent the photos to her ex-boyfriend and others. Berks County District Attorney says Thomas reporter that her ex "liked that kind of thing."

Court documents allege that there were other photos on Thomas's phone showing a deer skull, a dead dog and an embalmed shark. One witness who received photos from Thomas told police she was "into dead animals" and "into death."

Investigators say Thomas’ phone contained photos of as many as three deceased Berks Heim residents ranging in age from 84-92 years old.