In the United States, a burglary occurs every 14.6 seconds with the highest rate of property crime in the Southern region (which includes Atlanta and D.C.)...
Many people assume that these crimes mostly affect businesses or banks, but the truth is that the vast majority, over 75% to be precise, of properties that are targeted are homes and residential communities. Also, contrary to popular belief, these supposed “crimes of opportunity” take place in broad daylight, not in the middle of the night and more than half involve forcible entry into the home.
Sometimes these crimes go further than simple burglary, becoming an act of robbery or battery and a homeowner can end up in the wrong place at the wrong time, resulting in trauma, either physical, mental or both. Unfortunately, home invasion robberies do end in death in some cases, and the aftermath can rock a family, even a community to its core.
We were called out to a home near Raleigh, North Carolina, the call originally coming into the Atlanta office before being turned over to our regional teams on the Atlantic seaboard.
The caller had informed us that the residence had recently been the site of a tragic home invasion robbery that had left a couple deceased in their rural home. The winding country roads, and charming towns we passed along the way belied the fact that even here, in the wholesome countryside, one could not escape the darker functions of the human condition.
Pulling up to the dwelling on a quiet street off of the main thoroughfare, a man stepped forward to lift the yellow police tape that encircled the property for our van to go beneath. Once outside of the vehicle, he introduced himself simply as a friend of the family, who worked for the local police department and had heard of our services.
Then he led us into the home, through the garage, where it had all gone terribly wrong. There on the floor of the finished room, between the threshold of the kitchen and laundry room, was a pool of dried blood. Blood splatters, indicating the use of a stabbing instrument swung in violent manner, trailed down the walls, baseboards and tennis shoes that sat against the doorway.
He explained that so far they had determined that the suspect had broken in through the garage door, around 2 pm. Whether or not he had intended to commit the crime of murder, he didn’t know, but at some point during the break in, the man of the house, 30, who was home for the day with his wife of one year, 29, encountered the suspect or suspects. That was when he was stabbed in the door region, then dragged bleeding down the hallway into the kitchen where he was finished off, his throat slit ear-to-ear so deeply that he was nearly decapitated. The puddle of blood in the kitchen spoke of the viciousness of the act, and silently I prayed that the man died quickly with little pain.
He continued his gruesome account, detailing how the attacker had alerted the other occupant of the home, the young misses, who came quizzically around the corner of the kitchen wall, walking right into the arms of her killer. He brutally raped her, in the blood of her dead spouse, and then he strangled her to death with her silk stockings. Then, once they were both deceased, the killer looted the residence, and then took off in the family’s car, which was later found burnt out in a ravine.
With all that in our minds, we began the task of restoring the home since the police had finished conducting their investigation in the structure and it was to be resold, more than likely, by the remaining family.
We started with washing the walls and baseboards with our cleaners and disinfectants, repairing any sections that could not simply be cleaned.
Next we moved onto the floors, which because of the amount of blood present at the scene, had to be completely stripped down to the concrete foundation, and even then steam cleaned and treated more than 3 times before we were satisfied that all blood had been removed.
Then it was simply a matter of installing new flooring throughout the home, repainting the affected walls, removing any contaminated materials for proper disposal, and then totally sanitizing every surface in the home.
In the end, you would never have known it to see it that something so dreadful had taken place within the lovely walls of the charming little home. Later, after we had returned to our own homes, we found out that they had captured the man responsible for the grisly murders and it was none other than the man’s long time best friend who had gone off the deep end on a drug fueled bender. Its sad to think these things really do happen, that they are not just movie plots… but truth is much stranger, or tragic in this case, than fiction.
If you have been the victim of burglary or battery you are already suffering. Burglary is invasive and battery is nothing less than horrifying. In its aftermath no one want to handle the task of cleanup. Leave the cleanup of a burglary or battery cleanup services to the crime scene cleanup professionals of Advanced Bio Treatment.
Advanced Bio Treatment is a team of crime scene cleaning professionals dedicated to providing you the service you deserve. We have the experience and training to handle all your burglary cleanup or battery cleanup needs, including blood cleanup and fingerprint dust cleanup. Additionally, we can help you with any payment questions you have regarding crime scene cleanup and even help you file your insurance claim.
We are here to help. You can trust the professional cleanup technicians at Advanced Bio Treatment to perform thorough discreet burglary scene or battery scene clean up work. We are IICRC certified and will return the crime scene to its original condition.
If you need crime scene clean-up guidance, have questions about your payment options, which crime scene clean up procedures your current insurance policy covers or require our scene cleanup services immediately, don’t hesitate to give Advanced Bio Treatment a call at:800-295-1684
