Burglars Clean Out House, From Electronics To Woman’s Lingerie
Burglars cleaned out a Spokane Valley house over the weekend, taking about $30,000 worth of belongings they stuffed into the vacationing family’s unlocked car.
Stolen items ranged from the obvious - stereo equipment, television set, jewelry - to the odd - women’s underwear, lingerie, socks. And, Keely Grunigen’s light blue 1986 Buick Century.
“They pretty much cleaned us out,” said Grunigen’s husband, David. “They tossed the house upside down.”
Every room in the house, located in the 2200 block of north Elton Road, had been entered. The burglars ransacked the living room, bedrooms and den between 1 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday, said Deputy David Reagan, sheriff’s department spokesman.
“To add insult to injury, (the burglars) stole the car,” Reagan said.
The intruders forced their way into the home through the front door, past a dead bolt that did not get completely locked before the Grunigens left for a camping trip at Sullivan Lake.
Once inside, the thieves scoured the house, apparently pausing only to have a bite to eat. Keely Grunigen said she found their dirty dishes piled in the kitchen sink.
Anything small was dumped into pillow cases taken from the beds. Larger items went straight into Keely Grunigen’s car until it was full or the burglars were interrupted.
“It sounds like this guy was fairly thorough and spent some time in the home,” Reagan said.
Expensive items top the long list of missing valuables. One bass amplifier - $1,300. One Mossberg Maverick shotgun with two spare barrels and black plastic case - no value given. Keely Grunigen’s 1.25-carat champagne diamond wedding ring - $3,500. Austrian crystal jewelry - $1,200. A Peavey B-Quad, five-string fretless bass guitar - $2,300. Two acoustical guitars - $850. One fender jazz bass guitar - $400.
Other items that had sentimental, if not monetary, value also were taken. Among them, decorative elephants carved into an ivory tusk David Grunigen’s grandmother bought during a trip to China in the 1920s and a wooden box collection given to him by his late father.
“How do you put a value on something like that?” David Grunigen wondered. “You can’t.”
Especially disturbing to the Grunigens was the discovery that the burglars stole all of Keely’s underwear and socks, and swiped her lingerie off hangers in the closet.
“That’s a little weird,” David Grunigen said.
Reagan said the only thing unusual about the missing undergarments is that the burglars also took items of value. Typically, burglars steal one or the other, he said.
“It’s not at all unusual for burglars to be sexually excited by the act of burglary,” said Reagan, who added that the Grunigens’ burglary is not necessarily a sexually motivated crime.
Despite the losses, the couple, who said they are learning that their homeowners’ insurance does not cover as much as they thought it did, have kept a sense of humor.
Apparently, Keely Grunigen’s car, Washington license plate number WCK 929, is temperamental.
“I’m sure whoever has that car right now is having their problems with it,” she said.
Added David: “It’s a lousy getaway car.”
, DataTimes