A 21-year-old man is behind bars for allegedly burglarizing a home where he found the homeowner dead inside, and then went back a second time for more loot.
According to the Ashtabula County Sheriff's Office, on Nov. 30, deputies responded to a home on Pine Street in Andover Township for a 76-year-old man who had died.
The Ashtabula County Coroner's Office determined that the man had been "deceased for a lengthy period of time," the sheriff's office said.
Deputies learned that the home had been broken into after the resident died, and the burglar had found the body, chose not to report it and then pilfered valuables from the house, the sheriff's office said. The thief returned later and took more of the homeowner's stuff.
During the investigation, detectives recovered the homeowner's vehicle in Williamsfield Township. A safe taken from the home was found in Meadville, Pa.
Detectives later identified a 21-year-old man as the suspect and took him into custody on a burglary charge.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Det. Evan Wolff at 440-576-1446.
