Edgmont Resident, Substitute Teacher Arrested For Theft

NEWTOWN SQUARE–On April 9 at approximately 12:09 p.m., responded to the construction site located in the rear of for a report of a theft from a vehicle.

Upon arrival, police spoke with the victim who told police that they had observed a woman wearing a shirt with a pink flower print, black pants, high heels and sunglasses, opening the passenger side door to his Jeep Wrangler that was parked in the school's back parking lot, according to the incident report.

According to police, when the victim checked the interior of his Jeep when the woman had left, he discovered his center console open and his Serengeti sunglasses, three pack of Marlboro menthol cigarettes, loose change and a black compact disk storage case containing approximately 200 CDs missing.

The estimated loss of the stolen items is $3,178, according to the report.

According to the report, the high school school security officer and a custodian reported that they, too, had observed the woman try to open at least three different vehicle doors in the student parking lot from the faculty room.

When the security officer tried to stop the woman, the woman drove around the security officer and ignored his request to stop, according to the report. The security officer recognized the woman as the same person who had entered the school as a substitute teacher that morning, said police.

When police contacted the woman, identified as Jocelyn Murphy, 29, of Edgmont, she told police she had arrived at the school around 7:20 a.m. to work as a substitute teacher in the research room and told police she had left the school at 12 p.m., according to the report.

Murphy denied trying to enter any of the vehicles in the student parking lot, said police. When police asked what she wore to school that morning, the woman told police she wore a shirt with a pink flower print, black pants and high heels–the same description that was described by the victim.

Murphy faces four charges of theft by unlawful taking or disposition. She is scheduled to appear in court before Magisterial District Judge Leon Hunter of on June 21 at 9 a.m. for a preliminary hearing.

Note: Any arrests or charges mentioned do not indicate a conviction.