Safety is a serious concern for homeowners and renters alike who take precautions against burglaries by installing alarm systems and locks on their doors and windows. Despite some people's best efforts though, they're not only victims of a break-in, but once in awhile, a truly mind-boggling event occurs that just leaves everyone around reeling.
Burglar Turned Farm Hand?
Imagine coming home to your house to find that someone else is living there. Wait, what? Back up the train...
In 2015, Christopher Hiscock found a house in Nova Scotia, Canada, that he was drawn to while out on a drive and decided that he just had to live there. The front door was open, so he went in and made himself comfortable, sounds reasonable, right? That's not all, though, he actually chipped in and fed the horses and cats, before defrosting a steak, making some coffee and sitting down on the couch to watch TV. Heck, he even did the laundry! When the owners arrived back home from a trip out, they found Hiscock. Rather than approaching him, they walked right back out and flagged down the police. Hiscock was arrested and sentenced to probation and later apologized. His final parting words: "Maybe I'll go into the woods. There's a lot of fish there." What a free spirit. [Source]
Leaving Behind the Ol' Facebook Trail
We've all heard of dumb criminals, but this one takes the cake. In St. Paul, Minnesota, James Wood arrived home one day in 2014 to find his front door open and a window missing a screen. After checking his house, he found several items missing including some jewelry, cash and credit cards. While some people would never find, let alone catch the burglar, this story took an interesting turn. In addition to finding his personal possessions missing, Wood also found that the criminal left behind some stuff too -- namely a soaking wet pile of clothing. That's not all, though, this brainiac also logged himself into Facebook on Woods' computer, leading to his eventual arrest. [Source]
Hold the Escrow!
Buying a house is a dream for many people, but buyer's remorse is certainly a thing. That usually comes after you've bought the house, though. Not so for John Pfeiffer, Jr. of Newtown Township, Pennsylvania. The night before closing, Pfeiffer evidently had a change of heart and decided, rather than cancel the sale of the house, to try to burn it down! The sellers were spending their final night in the house and overheard the attempted break-in, scaring Pfeiffer off. Police caught him around the corner from the house and a search turned up lighter fluid, wood chips and latex gloves. Evidently, he had lied about being able to afford the house and rather than go through with a counterfeit cashier's check, he thought he'd burn the house down and be done once and for all. He certainly is done for, though not in the way he expected. [Source]
No Mask Necessary
Burglars often take precautions to hide their faces so they can make a quick getaway without their identities being discovered. What happens when you have no mask, though? Sharpie to the rescue! Joey Miller and Matthew McNelly decided they didn't need masks, they could just draw one on their face and be done with it. After failing to break into a flat in the UK, they were discovered by police and stopped at gunpoint, still covered in permanent marker. Stupid is as stupid does. [Source]
No Pants Needed
In 2012, a man broke into a house in Manchester, New Hampshire, sans pants and proceeded to go on the defensive going so far as to swing a bat at the homeowners. Derek McNutt and his girlfriend Lindsey had two children in the house at the time. When they ran out to get a bat, they inadvertently locked themselves out of the house while the intruder was inside with the kids. After throwing around high chairs, shovels and vice grips, the intruder grabbed a pair of McNutt's sweatpants and booked it. He was arrested shortly thereafter on the street, talk about a wild ride! [Source]
While these are quite above the norm, break-ins do regularly happen. You can save yourself from becoming a headliner by taking simple measures and installing a home security system or even motion-activated lights to scare would-be robbers off. Or, you could try some of these innovative methods and get a laugh or two in the meantime.
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