"The fact that someone would do this at this time in a person’s life is truly unbelievable,” Caryn Papantonakis says.
Burglars in Texas broke into a home while relatives were mourning the loss of a beloved family matriarch. The family watched the robbery at their house take place thanks to their security camera app.
Lawyer Caryn Papantonakis was at her mother's funeral with her two children, Xander and Zoe. They watched the robbery unfold live on their phones from Ring cameras.
“He all of a sudden said ‘mom, they’re robbing our house, they’re robbing our house,” Papantonakis says. “They were there for at least 30 minutes and we just sat there watching them. We felt so helpless just watching these people steal our things.”
Surveillance video showed two women stealing art, jewelry, silver, clothing, electronics, and skateboards. They also walked away with Christmas stockings stuffed with gifts. The thieves stole $50,000 worth of items.
Police say the suspects kept track of funeral announcements to target homes when family members were burying their loved ones.
“It’s sickening. These people are evil. The fact that someone would do this at this time in a person’s life is truly unbelievable,” Papantonakis says.
The thieves had also walked away with Zoe’s AirPods, which helped lead police in Houston to two suspects. Some of the stolen items were recovered.
Sage Grider, 29, and Adrienne Hart, 31, have been charged with burglary and are each being held on $105,000 bail.
“I plan to be at every hearing, every, everything that comes up for these women,” the lawyer says.
Papantonakis tells Inside Edition she and her children want to start a foundation in her mother’s name to start a service that provides someone to sit at people’s homes during funeral services.
