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Linda Renee Polk was questioned by police after prosecutors accused the in-home caregiver of fraud and theft involving Steven Zarnowitz, a 78-year-old retired lawyer who died after life support was discontinued at a Mount Clemens, Michigan, hospital. A first-degree murder charge against Polk was later dismissed, while seven fraud and theft charges remained pending.

Polk, of Clinton Township, was 52 when charged. She was hired in the spring of 2021 to care for Zarnowitz's wife, Jill Margolick, at the couple's home in Macomb Township. She is not related to either of them.

Zarnowitz's health began declining in early 2024. He suffered a stroke on October 17, 2024, underwent surgery at McLaren Macomb Hospital and ended up comatose on life support. Prosecutors alleged that Polk identified herself as his niece, presented a fraudulently obtained power of attorney and instructed the hospital to discontinue life support. Zarnowitz died on October 19, 2024. Prosecutors also alleged that Polk had his body cremated without notifying his family.

In the following weeks, prosecutors said Polk forged a quit-claim deed transferring the couple's house into her name and listed it for sale less than two weeks later. The Macomb County Register of Deeds determined the deed was fraudulent. She was also accused of writing herself a $6,500 check from Margolick and opening Bank of America, Macy's and Capital One credit cards in Zarnowitz's name after his death. Purchases allegedly included Christian Louboutin boots costing about $1,600.

Clinton Township police began investigating after the fraud emerged through paperwork rather than through Zarnowitz's death. A department detective described the case at Polk's preliminary examination, but the date of her police interview and the detective's name were not given. Polk was arraigned in early April 2025 on a $1 million cash or surety bond, with a tether required if she were released. Testimony in 41-B District Court in Mount Clemens established that she was not related to Zarnowitz and that the power of attorney had been notarized by a licensed notary who knew none of the parties. Her attorney pointed to witnesses listed on the document, including Zarnowitz's wife. Judge Carrie Fuca bound Polk over for trial as charged on August 29, 2025, with her next hearing set for September 22, 2025, before Macomb County Circuit Judge Matthew Sabaugh.

Polk has not been convicted of anything. She was charged with first-degree murder, punishable by life without parole; two counts of forgery of a document affecting real property, 14 years each; embezzlement from a vulnerable adult of $1,000 to $20,000, 5 years; two counts of identity theft, 5 years each; and two counts of illegal sale or use of a financial transaction device, 4 years each. Her attorney, Steven Scharg, moved to quash the murder charge. In March 2026, Sabaugh granted the motion and dismissed that count, finding that the preliminary examination evidence did not support it and that the district court had "abused its discretion" in binding Polk over. He found that removal of artificial life support was not the cause of death establishing murder, and that the stroke brought Zarnowitz to that point and to the end of his life. Scharg said Polk had nothing to do with the medical condition that resulted in his death. The ruling was reported on April 29, 2026. The seven remaining fraud and theft counts stand, and the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office, headed by Peter J. Lucido, said it would appeal the dismissal. No trial date on those counts has been publicly reported.

The video is a police interview-room recording running about 117 to 118 minutes. It presents the interview itself and opens with a short narrated introduction naming the people involved.

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Part 2 of 2 of the recording described above.