The worst fears of homeowners when they leave their houses in the morning are that the place they rest their heads in will be burglarized, or that a fire will burn it down while they are away. Any one of those two is bad enough, but imagine both.... And that devastating duo of misfortune is just what befell a resident of the Maxboro Community in Sandhill who's been burgled and burnt out. And that's not the worst of it...Keith Swift found out how bad it can get.
Keith Swift Reporting,
This is what remains of Judith Jones-Mushcamp's house after it was burglarized and then set on fire by the thieves. And if all that wasn't bad enough, she believes her next-door neighbors are responsible.
Judith Jones-Muschamp, Home Burglarized & Burnt
"It looks suspicious to me. I am not saying she took the things but if she is involved she had help because she cannot carry so much from my house to her house."
Her story begins around 10 am on Friday when this teacher and mother of four was shopping:in downtown Belize City and got the call that her home in Maxboro was on fire.
Judith Jones-Muschamp,
"While I was at Ro-Macs I received a call from my neighbor telling me that my house was on fire. I just took out of Ro-Macs like a mad woman running and ran to the bus stop where my gentleman is and I told him we need to go, my house is on fire."
Muschamp and her husband arrived in Maxboro about half an hour later and found their two bedroom bungalow in flames.
Judith Jones-Muschamp,
"When I came and I saw it, man, I didn't even want to come out of the bus. I just sat in there and after a while I decided I have to come out and face it, its reality."
Keith Swift,
And what was the reality?
Judith Jones-Muschamp,
"Well everything in there was totally destroyed except for the stove, the washing machine, and my bed. The bed is still in tact, the children's bed and chest of draws and those are still in tact but all other contents inside at the moment were burnt. "
Judith would later learn that those possessions which weren't burnt - were missing. And so as she started to pick up the pieces, she started to piece together a puzzle and realized this was no ordinary fire.
Judith Jones-Muschamp,
"It was a burglary and they set the house on fire because my gentleman is the first to go inside and he came back out and said that somebody broke into the hose because the bed frame is turned up, the mattress is gone, and at he time he observed that the bureau draw and the two bedside tables were also missing. "
And that was just for starters, Judith later found grocery items missing from her cupboard, dish washing liquid gone from the kitchen, seafood missing from the refrigerator, and clothes missing from the bedrooms. But there is more. Judith says the thieves didn't go for expensive items like her TV or DVD player, those were left to burn. Instead they went for the small things like the ornaments which were once glued to the wall of the kitchen.
Judith Jones-Muschamp,
"Some stupid little picture frame from over the wall is missing. Simple things from bathroom like soap and body wash collectible items in those fancy bottles are missing. My wine stand is missing with all the wines and a wine rack also that is made out of steel, that you make burglars out of, that wouldn't have burnt and that is when I realized that as missing. I observed the center table and the two corner tables were also missing."
And all the missing items were found inside house no.322 which is next door.
Judith Jones-Muschamp,
"When we went over there with the police I realized those were over there: yhe wine rack with the wine stand and then I saw a number of other stuff over there that I didn't even recall were missing."
Keith Swift,
In your neighbors house?
Judith Jones-Muschamp,
"In my neighbor's house."
That neighbor is Elena Kerr. She admits that Judith's possessions were in her house but says she didn't steal them. She says someone else put them there.
Elena Kerr, Accused of Arson and Theft
"I went out Friday and when I came back my house was locked up and my niece told me that some boys pulled across things in here and I found it (the stuff) in here and my boyfriend hurriedly called the owner of the missing stuff. They are saying that we stole it but why would we steal it and give them back everything."
Jules Vasquez,
Miss Judith is saying you didn't say any such thing when you met her. She says she asked you if you saw anybody strange in the area and you didn't mention that you had the stuff. That is what she is saying.
Elena Kerr,
"I didn't know until the night when I reached home because the door was closed so I was waiting on my boyfriend."
Keith Swift,
You didn't know her stuff was inside?
Elena Kerr,
"No until 9 o'clock the night. I feel bad because why would I steal things and then give back. Why?"
And while that's her story - this neighborhood isn't buying it. Elena's swollen left eye is what she got during a fistfight with a neighbor this morning. Those tensions flared up into another confrontation when we were there. Police were called to defuse the situation and they took in Elena Kerr, her boyfriend Deon, and her son for questioning. But all that is hardly any consolation for Judith.
Judith Jones-Muschamp,
"On the way coming from Belize my mind was not on the material stuff. To be honest, I was worrying about my house and how will I find my house because I would be much happier at this moment to be sleeping on the floor, even if it is only a sheet and I have a shelter over my head. We cannot be in there right now but the way I love my house, I told my gentleman yesterday for us just to paint the room, fix the room, and just live in the lone room. I just want to be in my house."
And maybe this mottled and lightly toasted greeting ornament on the door is the best symbol for the spirit of this determined home-owner, once brunt, but not too shy to try again.
The items which were found in Elena Kerr's house have been moved by the police to another person's home. Judith Muschamp and her family hope they'll be able to return home by Christmas. The house was insured but not the contents. Elena Kerr and her boyfriend were detained but not charged. The Fire Department has concluded that a couch was set on fire and that started it all. Whatever the case, Elena Kerr told us she plans to move from the neighborhood.
