CLEVELAND, Texas — A Houston-area family learned a heartbreaking lesson ahead of the holidays. Their loved one passed, then his house was burglarized.
KHOU 11 News learned about what happened after Leigh, who asked we not use her last name out of concern for her safety, shared a TikTok video detailing the burglary.
"His truck was stolen. His house has been broken into. I am livid," she said in that first video, panning the camera around what was left of her Uncle Mike's Cleveland home. "There’s stuff everywhere. Everywhere."
"Devastation. Anger. I was so upset," Leigh told KHOU 11 in a later interview. "My uncle would do anything for anybody. He worked hard for the little bit that he had. So to walk in and see that anything he owned that was valuable to him was gone, devastating."
Leigh walked through her uncle’s house on Nov. 12, three days after he passed away and nine since he first went to the hospital.
"What we thought was a minor issue turned out to be pancreatic cancer. It was very invasive," she shared. "We found out that he had cancer on Tuesday morning and he passed on Tuesday night."
That series of events that seemed to happen so fast, the family didn’t think about how long Mike’s house sat empty, giving thieves time to take his guitars, his computers, his truck and more.
"It was devastating. Completely," Leigh said. "I didn’t even have time to grieve. I was so angry. I’m still angry."
She’s sharing what happened to hopefully recover some of what was stolen, but also to let others know not to leave a loved one’s home empty while they’re at the hospital or even after they pass.
"I would just love for people to be aware of that because I was not," Leigh said.
She added her uncle's home is far off the street, not visible from the gate at the end of his driveway. That had been broken through as well.
"When I’m alone, these memories just kind of roll down my cheeks," she said.
In her final TikTok update, she shared she tracked down one of her Uncle Mike’s most prized possessions: his cat, Scooter.
"I know my uncle would have been very happy," Leigh said.
The search continues for the other stolen items, including her uncle’s custom Fender Stratocaster, a blue Fender guitar, a red Fender guitar and his white 1999 Ford Ranger.
The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office is investigating, but more than a month on, deputies tell KHOU 11 they don’t have any leads. If you have any information about the case or the stolen items, contact investigators at (936) 336-4500.