Teenagers violate family’s home
While a family were enjoying an overseas holiday, a friend rang to tell them people had been living in their house.
The pantry was ‘‘destroyed’’, eggs had been thrown on the walls, confectionery sprinkles littered the carpet and condom wrappers were found in the master bedroom.
Chocolate sauce splattered cupboard doors, booze bottles were left on the table, the bathroom was messy and the intruders’ clothes were discarded on the floor.
The Hamilton family had an alarm, but it hadn’t been reset after a neighbour went there to feed the cat. When another friend checked on the house in Rototuna North, they found the place in a shambles.
And the children’s scooter and bike had been stolen, the Rototuna mother-of-three told Stuff.
She understood the culprits were teenagers, who had snuck in through the cat door while the family were away in late June.
‘‘They were just living there, they were sleeping in my bed,’’ the mother, who doesn’t want to be named, said.
‘‘Why were the condom wrappers all over the floor? It’s just so disgusting.
‘‘All we have in this often unpleasant world is our home, our sanctuary, the woman said. ‘‘And they violated that one thing that we have created that is our haven. They broke it and defiled it.’’
The house had been spotless before the family went away, she said. Friends had tried to clean up the mess before they returned, but the place didn’t feel like home and the Rototuna mother had a panic attack upon returning.
She felt their home had been ‘‘violated’’.
‘‘I was a mess . . . I couldn’t go to work for two weeks.’’
And it took weeks before her young daughter would go into a room by herself, scared the culprits would return.
The break-in was reported to police, who took fingerprints and made inquiries, but nothing could be proved, the mother said.
She believes she knows the young culprits and would like the opportunity to speak with them and their parents.
‘‘They didn’t need anything from our house . . . It’s hard for me to understand, I am baffled.’’
The family has since made security changes, including installing cameras.
A police spokeswoman confirmed police had received reports of the break-in.
No further information was available while inquiries were ongoing.
The break-in coincided with a what was touted as a crime surge in Hamilton’s northern suburbs.