Dead Give-A-Way

by Susan Murphy-Milano

Imagine for a moment the grief associated with the death of a loved one. The planning of a memorial or funeral service is overwhelming.

Your body and mind feel invaded by some unknown alien force. You cannot think straight. There is a tremendous amount to do during this time. And all you want to do is “just get through it all.”

When my parents died, the family home where I learned to play my first game of hopscotch and learned to roller skate without taking another trip to the emergency room for a broken bone, was burglarized.

On the day of my parents' funerals, along with the entire residential street, as we were saying goodbye . . . thieves were saying hello as they entered into the rear basement window of the home and helped themselves to whatever they could easily carry out the door. No one was ever arrested. It has haunted me ever since.

Recently, a neighbor passed away. The husband and wife raised their family and lived in the same home for close to 50 years. As Emily, the grieving widow surrounded herself with family and close friends she went through the motions. First, Emily made arrangements with a funeral home for the wake and funeral service. While in the office of the funeral director, Emily handed the computer-generated death notice she filled out on-line with all the information on the immediate family, date and time of both the wake and funeral, for submission to the newspapers. Emily included the clubs, charities, and associations her dearly departed loved one involved himself with over the years. From the published death notice:

"John was a loving husband, father and grandfather. He served in the Army as a captain during WWII. He was a proud member of local 714. Bob was a member of a rare stamp and coin club. He collected first edition books. And when he retired John traveled the world discovering new treasures and meeting and making many friends. He will be missed by so many who loved and knew him."

It would become painfully obvious someone else loved John, or at least his property, when Emily and her grown children returned from the funeral service eleven hours later to find a thief had broken into their home as the family laid their loved one to rest. Much of what was stolen could not be replaced. This included years of family photos filled with loving memories.

These types of crimes during death are common. According to law enforcement it is rare when an arrest is made in these cases, because everyone is attending the funeral.

A published death notice is a dead giveaway for a thief.

It is very simple to gain information. Start by using the white pages on the Internet (go to people search) and type in anyone's name and the state where they live. I suggest using your own name and see what comes up. When I did this for Emily, John's name came up, age, phone number, who else lives in the home. If I look further, the site also lists the first 10 neighbors in the surrounding area of the residence. YUK!

Once I had the address I headed for the County Treasurer's Office Web site. Depending on the state and county of an address, locating the tax identification number of a property will vary.

Once I typed in the address, the tax information and history of the home was on the screen. I pressed another tab on the site and I was directed to a live photo of Emily's home and property. Great tool for someone preparing to break into a home. For Emily's residence, I was able to visually see with the assistance of Google "streetview." Close-up I viewed the back entrance of the property, the height of the trees and shrubs surrounding the home and a large detached garage.

The very first order of business you should take care of prior to going to make arrangements is, head to your local post office. Fill out a card and have the mail held for a three to four week period or change the mailing address to a friend or a relative's. This prevents important mail from being stolen. And all around it is a great safety tool.

Next, limit what is said in a published death notice. Do not list too much personal information or activities. This gives a heads-up to thieves about valuables or money in the home.

Make arrangements with your church to house sit during the wake and funeral service. If that if is not an option, contact a reputable security company and hire them to sit in the home. Or call your local law enforcement and ask if you can hire an off-duty officer.

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Home Invasions: Coming to a scream near you

by Stacy Dittrich

In true Halloween fashion, my friends and I gathered together recently for our annual fright night. Since we’re grown-ups, this mainly consists of a few horror movies, our favorite bottles of wine, and a warm fire in the fireplace to illuminate the darkened room ever so slightly. I had my “movie-selecting” privileges revoked awhile back (after I chose a recent horror movie that was subsequently in subtitles), so I was anxious to see what terrifying and ghostly presence would emerge on the screen.

Looking at the DVD cover of the movie we were about to watch, The Strangers, I thought it was a good choice: “Oooh, ghosts wearing masks! This looks pretty cool!” I voiced loudly (missing the wry smiles that appeared on my friends’ faces since they knew what was coming).

Needless to say, it was one of the most disturbing movies I have ever seen. In fact, the “ghosts” were real people. The movie takes place in a remote home where an attractive young couple (Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman) decides to spend the night. After receiving a knock on their door, they are terrorized, tortured, brutalized, and, eventually, murdered over the next several hours by a man and two women wearing creepy masks; a genuine home invasion at its worst. If I didn’t have my eyes covered (the masks, truly, horrified me), I was yelling at the screen at the lack of common sense exhibited by the victims, “What are you doing? Run for the woods, you idiot!”

Clearly, I wasn’t entertained. When I sit down to watch a movie, I want to be catapulted from reality with no reminder of what can actually happen. I don’t need to be reminded; I saw it every day as a police officer. And, little did my friends know, that home invasions rank right up there as a crime that continuously turns my stomach.

Imagine sitting down at your dinner table with your family, talking about the day’s events, or doing your laundry in the security of your own home watching soap operas when your door is kicked in and you are surrounded by vicious mask-wearing criminals who point a gun at you and your children before ordering all of you to the floor.

For the victims, it’s an indescribable horror. They have been invaded: their home, their lives, and their security. They don’t know if the invaders simply want money, or if they are there for the sole purpose of terrorizing the family. If it’s the latter, that is much, much, worse.

Before I retired, my jurisdiction was suffering a rash of home invasions. Some of the victims were beaten mercifully, while others were terrorized for hours. To look at their faces after something like this shows the depth of horror they went through—it wasn’t a movie, and it certainly wasn’t entertaining.

Apparently, Hollywood thinks it is.

On April 11, 1981, the Sharp family was brutally murdered and terrorized in a remote cabin of the Keddie Resort (pictured left). Known since as the “Keddie Murders,” some argue the case inspired the Friday the 13th movies—teens alone in a cabin being stalked and killed by an unknown killer. However, the first Friday the 13th movie was filmed in 1980, a year before the Keddie murders. Is this a case of life imitating art or vice versa? Or, did the movies really have anything to do with the murders at all?

Of course, there are the Manson Murders. No one really knows for sure just how long Sharon Tate begged for her life and the life of her unborn child’s. And, like the Manson home invasions, another famed example of a murdered family was the Clutter family, gruesomely depicted in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood.

One of the most recent cases of a home invasion—the Connecticut case of Dr. William A. Petit, Jr. had some of us considering bars on our home windows; a day-long terror that resulted in two thugs beating and raping the doctor’s wife and daughters before setting the house on fire. There is also the case of the Groene family murders by serial killer Joseph Edward Duncan, another family terrorized in their own home before being murdered.

I don’t think any of us could sit back and begin to imagine the sheer terror all of these people above felt before they died. Frankly, I don’t want to nor do I want to be reminded of it on my television.

In breaking news, as I was writing this post Sunday afternoon, various news stations began to broadcast the untimely death of Arkansas news anchor, Anne Pressly (seen below), 26. Pressly, the victim of a brutal home invasion had every bone in her face broken during the savage beating. Although she held out for several days, she finally succumbed to her injuries on Saturday. The suspects are still at large and the police maintain that Pressly was chosen randomly.

Some feel that as the economy continues its downward spiral, these types of crimes will escalate. It is much easier to invade and rob a home than a bank or convenience store. I can only hope that the persons responsible for Pressly's murder will be brought to justice.

I doubt that friends and family of Anne Pressly will look warmly to movies portraying her death for entertainment.

The Strangers was supposedly inspired by a true story, but I couldn’t find one fact to back that up. The blogs and reviews say it was a compilation of the Keddie murders and the Manson murders but, it’s just another movie depicting the real-life violence that plagues our society daily. And, again, it was very realistic.

I’ve had the experience of interviewing burglars/home invaders and their MO is usually standard. For burglars, they find it best to commit their crimes during the day when the homeowners are at work. For the home invaders—anything goes.

One suspect told me that he and his cohorts would purposely drive around remote areas looking for homes that “stood alone.” One of them would knock on the door and ask to use a phone as their car broke down, all the while scanning the interior, counting the number of people inside, etc. He would go back to the other waiting crooks and relay the information. They may hit the house at that moment, or return later.

This is also one of those crimes where I see just as many women partake as men. Never the brains behind the crime, they usually tag along and quite enjoy tormenting families.

Prevention, although never guaranteed, can be a simple integration into your daily lives.

1. During the day make sure your doors are locked. If you have a security system, have it on while you’re inside as well.

2. You teach it to your kids—never open the door to strangers. You can easily be overpowered. If someone comes to your door you can always crack a window nearby and yell out.

3. Keep a fully charged, emergency cell phone within reach. One of the cheap, convenient store track phones will do. On the flipside, keep a landline if possible. A lot of people are ridding their landlines for their cell phones. As long as landlines are available, I’ll keep one. In some rural areas, 911 have yet to obtain the capacity to pinpoint cell phone signals.

4. Dogs. Criminals are terrified of them. But, then again, so are the cops (my confrontation with a 150-lb Pit Bull will never be forgotten). Chihuahuas and Rat Terriers don’t apply here.

5. Trust your instincts. If a shady character comes to your door and leaves, call the police anyway. Don’t ask for a “drive-by,” insist they come to your door to contact you personally. That’s their job and if you’re worried about looking “too paranoid,” who cares. If you get a good look at the shady character, try to look for personal characteristics like scars, marks, tattoos, clothing, beards, mustaches, hats, etc. Don’t be dissuaded by stereotypes! I’ve seen some female suspects involved in home invasions that are attractive, young, and well dressed—they are the bait.

6. Guns. Some may or may not agree with this, but I have quite an arsenal in my home that I can access from any room within seconds. Should I be confronted with a home invader, he or she will be confronted by the end of my .45.

7. If you have an elderly relative that lives alone and has no immediate medical needs, think about getting them a medical alert necklace anyway—if possible.

With the exception of the dogs (my yellow lab would just as soon lick a criminal to death) I practice the above safety in my own home. Keep in mind, my husband and I have had our lives threatened for years as police officers and need to play it safe. For those who find the above too intense for their own lifestyles, I completely understand. But, you can always keep the tips in the back of your mind for safekeeping.

When someone (to classify them as a human being doesn’t apply) enters a family dwelling for the sole purpose of terrorizing and viciously murdering them, this portrays one of the most dangerous individuals in our society. These types of people were summarized well at the end of “The Strangers” when Liv Tyler’s character was pleading for her life and asking, “Why are you doing this to us?”

Their response?

“Because you were home.”

Sorry, ladies; I think I’m going back to my subtitles. . . .

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Most Atrocious "Burglary"

by Connie Park

On February 21, 2001, I was at the Homicide desk, working evening shift for the Houston Police Department. That night, I was taking calls from patrol officers reporting any murder scenes. I was a rookie officer back then, plus I was new to homicide. I was learning from investigators who had been investigating murders for over a quarter century. Needless to say, I was star-struck and eager to learn. On that Thursday night, we received a call regarding a body found in an apartment. A woman had been tied to a refrigerator.

Sgt. John Burmester, Officer Brian Harris, and I were assigned to make the scene and conduct the investigation. We arrived at the town home complex and found the patrol officers securing the crime scene. You can imagine all the images that were going through our minds when we first received the call. Sure enough when we arrived at the crime scene, there was a heavily decomposed female body lying on the floor.

The victim had been strangled and tied to the refrigerator handle like a dog. The victim’s name was Carmen Tupas, a 76-year-old retired teacher, who had lived alone in the complex for years. Neighbors told investigators that Ms. Tupas (pictured right) kept to herself and would not open her door to anyone except the few people she knew in the complex. There were burglar bars and an alarm system in her town home. Ms. Tupas had been robbed and beaten a few years before and was very safety conscious.

According to witnesses, they noticed Ms. Tupas's car was missing but they had seen the vehicle during the week parked in different parking spaces. The night Ms. Tupas was discovered, one of the neighbors stated that he noticed the burglar bar and front door were ajar and the lights were on inside the town home. The neighbor thought that was strange. Everyone knew Ms. Tupas always had the burglar bars locked. He went inside and that’s when he discovered Ms. Tupas lying on the floor, obviously dead.

This was one of my first crime scenes I made as an investigator and one that I will not forget. I saw a helpless elderly woman tied to a refrigerator door handle like some kind of animal. I was thinking who--or better yet, what--would do this to any person. Ms. Tupas had been dead for approximately two weeks. She was so heavily decomposed that her face was unrecognizable.

I had to conduct the crime-scene investigation and collect and document any potential evidence that might help with the investigation. I made an effort to be strong and objective and not to personalize anything. The very first opportunity I could take a break, I walked to my car and I began crying, trying to comprehend how anyone could do this to a human being and the suffering Ms. Tupas went through before she died.

I know we tough police officers don’t show our emotions and we have to be objective, but I don’t know any officers who would not be affected by this murder. I remember asking Sgt. Eric Mehl, a seasoned veteran, how he handled everything. Sgt. Mehl told me that you can’t personalize the victim. You must consider the body as evidence--the one piece of evidence you discover which will ultimately help you solve the murder investigation. That advice has stuck with me through my homicide investigations over the years.

We learned through our investigation that money and jewelry were taken from the town home and that her car was missing from the complex. The vehicle was recovered a few days later at the other end of the property. Even more disturbing was that whoever was responsible for her death had been staying in Ms. Tupas’s town home for several days, eating and sleeping while she was lying dead on the floor decomposing. For several days they were in and out of her town home and using her car.

We received an anonymous tip from a woman who informed us that she had seen the stolen jewelry in the possession of two males who were visiting her the same day Ms. Tupas was found dead. It turned out one of the two suspects lived at the same complex and that Ms. Tupas knew him. Ironically enough, the suspect turned out to be her friend’s son, the one and only friend she trusted. Charles White, a 34-yr-old male, and his 17-year-old friend Sam Zerai were eventually tracked down and charged with capital murder. Killing someone during the course of committing a felony such as robbery is a death-penalty eligible offense in Texas.

Both White and Zerai confessed to being in Ms. Tupas’s home for a couple of days and admitted to driving her vehicle but, predictably, both blamed each other for the murder. Each stated Ms. Tupas was dead when they arrived at her town home. They said they had stolen her jewelry, pawned it, and used the cash to buy drugs. They acknowledged that they ate, slept, and used drugs while Ms. Tupas's body was decomposing.

That these two murderers were charged and arrested for capital murder was both exciting and a relief. The physical evidence, latent prints, and confessions placed them at the scene of the murder. Unfortunately, before a trial, the two suspects were able to plead to lesser charges--specifically, "burglary of a habitation with intent to commit robbery." Without the suspects admitting to killing Ms. Tupas, the evidence we obtained was not enough to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they had killed her. All we had was enough to prove that they had broken into her town home and stolen from her.

Because White already had a criminal record, he received thirty-five years. Zerai was sentenced to less than five years. White is currently in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison unit and will be eligible for parole in 2036, and Zerai is out and living in Houston, Texas.

The case ended up with two arrests but only with burglary charges. The worst part is that the two cowardly suspects didn't have to stand trial for capital murder where they would have had to face Ms. Tupas's family. This was one case where justice wasn't served.

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