A St. James man believes his family was targeted by thieves after putting his father's obituary in the newspaper.
John Hudson had an obituary published for his father Michael Hudson, 83.
About 24 hours after the obituary was published, John says his father's home was robbed.
John calls the thieves "repugnant predators" and is shocked by what happened.
"I guess they don't care how they're hurting people. I never suspected we'd be targeted this way," says John.
Relatives were staying at John's father house and he believes the thieves were scared off by hearing them in a nearby room.
The thieves still managed to take two purses containing money and ID.
While the family believes the obituary led them to be targeted by thieves, Winnipeg police believe at this stage that the break-in was a random event, not connected to the obituary.
But investigators say certain types of criminals do use obituaries to take information for another type of crime, termed the "grandparent scam." Criminals get names of relatives using obituaries and call up elderly people, pretending to be a grandchild in trouble and needing money.
Officers are still looking for suspects in connection with the break-in to John Hudson's father's home. Officers are asking anyone with information about the robbery to contact Crime Stoppers at 786-8477.
While some people may worry about becoming targeted by criminals because of publishing an obituary, police say that should not be the case. Officers advise that people can take steps to protect themselves.
"(Have) neighbours watch your house. Leave lights on if you're going to be out late, as well as locking your doors, closing windows, using your alarm system," says Det. Sgt. Sandra Martin of the commercial crime unit.
- with a report from CTV's Stacey Ashley
