Marblehead Woman's Home Burglarized While She Slept

A Marblehead woman’s pocketbook and spare car keys were stolen from her Lafayette Street home while she slept Sunday night.

Police said the woman awoke to find her pocketbook missing from her kitchen where she left it before heading to bed Sunday.

Det. Sgt. Sean Brady said the woman in the home didn’t not awaken during the burglary and was physically unharmed, but “you can imagine the state of mind” after learning someone came into your home while you slept, he added.

Many of the items from the wallet were discovered strewn across her driveway Monday morning. Later that morning, a man returned several additional cards from her wallet that were found in a yard on nearby Laurel Street.

According to police, the burglar possibly entered the home through an unlocked back door.

“Although we all should be able to leave our houses unlocked and still have our property there in the morning, it is advisable to lock your house as that may be all that’s needed to deter an intruder,” police wrote in a Facebook post.

The thief attempted to use one of the stolen credit cards at 1 a.m., police said, but that withdrawal was declined.

Brady said this type of burglary isn’t common, but it does happen.

“Sometimes it’s someone that knows the house or has been in the house,” Brady said. “Sometimes it’s just someone who’s just going door-to-door juggling handles.”

The investigation is ongoing and police are asking that anyone who may have noticed something in the Lafayette Street area Sunday night -- a barking dog or an idling or slowly driven car, for example -- to contact Brady at 781-631-1212.

“People should be locking their homes and vehicles regardless of where they live,” Brady warned. “Just because it’s Marblehead doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be locking their doors.”