Jefferson County home destroyed as thieves go after scrap metal

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a burglary at a mobile home on Brookstone Drive in House Springs. The thieves ripped out the sheetrock walls and removed most of the electrical wiring.

Stephanie McCracken owns the home.

“That is really hard, coming in here to see it like this. Because the amount of work and damage they did to this is so severe,” she said.

The thieves also stole the air conditioning condenser unit from the backyard, the furnace and electrical wiring from some of the appliances. Izaih Vernaci and his wife and children lived in the home until recently. He said the break-in happened sometime after he moved out earlier in the month.

“That’s a lot of damage. That’s a lot of money and damage. I don’t know, it’s a shame,” said Vernaci

McCracken said she’s training to be a midwife and works as a professional labor assistant, called a doula. But she rents out the mobile home and counts on the rental income.

“It was my main source of income,” said McCracken.

She admits that she took a chance and didn’t get insurance on the home, to save money. It’s all the more reason why the theft and damage are so devastating to her. She said knew of some possible suspects and shared the information with investigators.

A GoFundMe account has been created to help McCracken.

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