ARLINGTON, Texas — Months after the arrest of Regla “Su” Becquer, Arlington police continue to scrutinize the deaths of people who died in her unlicensed boarding homes, Arlington investigators said Wednesday.
Last week, Becquer was charged with murder after the medical examiner ruled 60-year-old Kelly Pankratz died of “mixed drug toxicity” on Jan. 12. Pankratz was not prescribed Trazodone, an antidepressant similar to Xanax.
Pankratz's death is one of more than 20 that police are investigating. Two of the deaths involved wills that resulted in Becquer -- or her family -- inheriting the person’s estate, court records show.
“Most of these deaths occurred months or in some cases more than a year before our investigation began,” said Arlington homicide detective Krystallyne Robinson said Wednesday during a press conference. “Many of the clients had already been cremated, buried or their bodies were donated to science, making it challenging to investigate these deaths more thoroughly.”
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office is also taking another look at the autopsy of Karen Walker, who died in October 2022. The medical examiner originally concluded she died of heart disease, but now they are looking to see if any drugs were in her system that were not prescribed to her.
In a one-paragraph handwritten will dated 19 days before her death, Walker gave her “entire estate” to Becquer. Records show Becquer inherited an estate valued at $331,000. That included Walker’s house valued at $223,000 and more than $75,000 in two bank accounts.
Police confirmed Wednesday that they are having handwriting analysis conducted on the will.
Back in March, police first disclosed that they were investigating Becquer and the homes she operated.
“We were deeply concerned about what we saw in these homes, what we found, and what we had heard up to that point Today, I'm here to tell you that's just the tip of the iceberg,” said Lt. Kimberly Harris, commander of the behavioral health unit. “Since then, we've received numerous calls that recount victims and their families of how they were cut off from each other, how she would confiscate phones property, how she would seclude them and not give them medical attention…”
Court records show that investigators found large amounts of medications while searching three of Becquer's homes. Some of it was prescribed to former patients who were still alive. Some of it was former patients who were deceased, as well as to Becquer and her family. Several empty bottles of Trazodone were also found.
Police arrested Becquer in February. She was jailed on one felony endangerment charge connected to a single victim.
Court records say Becquer told family members of her patients she would give them "something" so they wouldn't run away, and that she was the one administering the medications.
“We spoke to a family member of Mr. Pankratz, who expressed several concerns about the care that he received from Mr. Becquer,” Robinson said. “The family member told me Mr. Pankratz's health appeared to worsen throughout his time with Ms. Becquer and that Mr. Pankratz said she would give him a handful of unknown pills twice a day."
Relatives for each victim have told WFAA or police that their loved ones entered Becquer's boarding homes relatively healthy but died after their arrival. Arlington police have called the tenants staying with Becquer "perfect victims" since they often lived away from relatives or had disabilities that made them easier to take advantage of.
State law allows boarding homes to operate without oversight in many cases.
Cities and counties can license and inspect boarding homes with at least three residents.
Fort Worth and Dallas have ordinances regulating boarding homes. But most cities lack ordinances, and that includes Arlington, Grand Prairie, and Mansfield – the cities where Becquer operated her homes.
“I've been doing this as an officer for 20 to 23 years now and I've never seen anything like this,” said Officer Chris Powell, one of the lead investigators. “It's been incredibly disturbing.”
Kelly Land, a crisis intervention specialist, said her recommendation to families if they are placing a family member in one of these types of homes is to visit frequently and be on the lookout for red flags, such as attempts to restrict communication.
Becquer is currently being held on bail in the Tarrant County jail. Her total bail is $1.5 million.
“Ms. Becquer named her company Love and Caring for People,” Harris said. “After everything we've learned, I think it's clear that she did not love or care for anyone.”