We all were taught to mind our manners and to say "please" and "thank you." But apologizing during a crime takes politeness to a new level.
After breaking in to a Skokie home at 8 a.m. last Friday, a burglar apologized to the 43-year-old woman inside and attempted to explain why he had to steal from her.
"I don't want to do this, but I haven't had a job for so long, and I have three children to support," the intruder said, according to police.
He then demanded cash and jewelry from the victim. The frightened woman obliged, mentioning that the jewelry once belonged to her mother. Evidently, that tugged at the burglar's heartstrings.
"Why did you have to tell me this was your mother's jewelry?" he said, police reported.
In the end, the contrite criminal made off with the jewelry, $535 cash, 100 euro, two cameras, and a laptop. However, the man purposely did not go through the woman's daughter's bedroom because "I have three children of my own, and I wouldn’t want anyone to mess with them," he said, according to police.
The man—described as 6'3" to 6'5" and up to 250 pounds—promised to call the victim with information about her stolen property.
"I'm going to pawn off your mother's jewelry and when I do you're going to get [a call] from a pay phone so you can come there and get it back," he told her, police said.
He has yet to call. How rude!
Matt Bartosik is a Chicago native and a social media sovereign.
