Cops: Pair Burglarized Homes While Residents Attended Wakes

BARRINGTON, Ill. (STMW) -- A northwest suburban couple would scour the obituaries in local newspapers, then burglarize the homes of people who were attending funeral services for deceased family members, according to police.

Jacquelyn S. Buchholz, 24, and Jason Werner, 26, did it several times in several counties before they were arrested by Barrington police responding to a burglary in progress on Sept. 21, a release from the McHenry County Sheriff's office said.

While they were being held in the Cook County Jail, McHenry and Boone county sheriff's officers interviewed the pair, both of the 100 block of Pleasant View Drive in unincorporated McHenry, and they confessed to several residential burglaries in unincorporated areas of those counties, the release said.

Buchholz and Werner would go to local libraries to check obituaries published in local papers and learn when family members would be attending funeral or wakes, police said.

Stolen property was recovered and has been connected to several recent burglaries, and the investigation is continuing with additional charges pending.

Buchholz and Werner are currently being held on $80,000 bonds at the Cook County Jail. They are scheduled to appear in court in Cook County on Oct. 12 in Rolling Meadows, according to the Cook County Sheriff's office.

They also face one count each of residential burglary and theft in McHenry County, where no court date has been set.

McHenry County officials are advising people that if personal information has been published in an obituary, have a friend or family member watch the house during wakes or funerals. The sheriff's office will also provide extra patrols for those requesting assistance while away.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)