Tom GantertOklahoma City, OK – A 72-year-old woman undergoing treatment for cancer returned to find that her home had been vandalized by “bored” juveniles.
After being away for months due to cancer treatment, the 72-year-old woman’s returned home to find her house vandalized with vulgar comments spray painted throughout the home.
Her front yard was also burned, according to KTVK.
The family had asked that their names not be used for privacy concerns.
According to KFOR, the inside of the house had been trashed. The vandals covered the walls, a TV and the bathroom with paint and dirty messages, KFOR reported.
The vandals also left personal messages to the 72-year-old woman on a kitchen table that were written in marker.
The messages included “We burned ur yard,” “you don’t know who I am,” “go to hell” and “die,” according to KFOR.
The Bridge Creek Fire Department, Grady County Sheriff’s Office and the Oklahoma State Fire Marshal’s Office all joined in the investigation and found the suspects were a group of children that were all under the age of 15, KFOR reported.
The vandals learned the homeowner’s name by going through mail that had been delivered to the home. Police said they thought the home was vacant.
“Right now, our most leading candidate, they were bored,” said Judah Sheppard, a fire investigator with the Oklahoma State Fire Marshal’s Office, according to WDAF. “They thought [the house] was abandoned, used for storage.”
The 72-year-old woman had lived in the home for decades. Family members said she called it her cabin.
The woman had to split time between her home and a hospital in Houston due to the cancer, WDAF reported. She’s had multiple surgeries to remove tumors, according to family members.
The vandals could be charged with breaking and entering, arson, and vandalism, according to WDAF.