Nurse guilty of stealing Mich. patient's morphine

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - A judge has found a former nurse accused of stealing morphine from a dying patient at the University of Michigan hospital guilty of larceny.

Washtenaw County Circuit Judge David Swartz on Friday found Esther Najer guilty on three counts of larceny in a bench trial. She was acquitted on a fourth count.

Sentencing was set for Jan. 7.

Authorities said Najer used a syringe to steal the morphine four times on Sept. 6, 2008, from the room of a meningitis patient.

Twenty-six-year-old LaKrisha Dobbins died later the same day.

The University of Michigan Health System said Najer stopped working at the hospital the next day.

A message seeking comment was left Friday for Najer's lawyer, Debra Keehn.