Nurse Charged With Grand Theft

A nurse who claimed tobacco heiress Doris Duke had been killed by her doctor and butler was arrested Wednesday and charged with stealing $439,000 in valuables from Duke and five other patients.

Tammy Payette was charged with six counts of grand theft.

Duke, daughter of the American Tobacco Co. founder, died in 1993 at age 80. In January, Payette contended that Duke had been killed by her doctor, Charles Kivowitz, who had conspired with Duke’s butler, Bernard Lafferty. The circumstances of Duke’s death are under investigation.