Who Is Diane Stretton? Fired Live-In Nanny Refuses To Leave Home Of California Family

A California family is running out of options to get their fired live-in nanny out of the house.

Marcella and Ralph Bracamonte of Upland in San Bernardino County hired Diane Stretton to assist with the care of their three children, ages 11, 4, and 1, reports ABC News. The parents say all was well for the first few weeks of her employment. But Stretton soon stopped doing her work, mostly staying in her room all day.

“All of a sudden she stopped working; she would stay in her room all day and only come out when food was ready,” said Bracamonte.

In their employment agreement, the Bracamontes offered Stretton free room and board for helping the family and taking care of their home. Though she initially agreed to the terms, Stretton later told the couple she had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. She claimed her condition kept her from helping the house stay clean and organized.

The Bracamontes say they attempted to get Stretton to pick up her performance. But when she still refused to do her work, they presented her with a “last chance letter” on June 6. The couple says Stretton wouldn’t sign the letter, which restated her job duties and the consequences of continuing to not meet them. Stretton then told them the job was too demanding and she would be leaving in 30 days.

But when the couple attempted to get Stretton to sign a written form confiming her 30-day notice, she again refused to sign the paper. The Bracamontes contacted the authorities, but they said it was a civil matter and there was nothing they could do about it. Upland Police Lt. John Moore told ABC News that since Stretton had become a resident in their home, the couple would have to go through a “formal eviction process” to remove her.

Adding to the situation, Stretton has even threatened to sue the Bracamontes for wrongful firing and elder abuse. But that suit won’t be her first run in court, seeing that it was uncovered by the Bracamontes that Stretton has been a party to 36 lawsuits. She is also on California’s Vexatious Litigant Lists for her repeated abuse of the legal system.

Marcella says she is worried about their children being in the home with Stretton since “there’s obviously something not right in her mind, and the police won’t protect us until someone gets hurt.” She added that Stretton has demanded that the family be out of their own home from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the ex-nanny is still living in the house and eating their food.