Expectant couple says Detroit home robbed after fire

[thecarl]

Am I the only one that smells bullshit?
So if they heard a neighbor talking about stealing their shit, why would they leave for the weekend?
Why in God’s name would they torch the house after robbing it? Even for ghetto scum, that only increases their chances of getting caught [[which does happen).
It sounds like these people wanted cash instead of the stuff or the house. It’s called insurance fraud.
Now everybody is sending them money. Hmm.

Poobert, the article says the family left the home because they were without electricity, and they sought relief from the heat at a relative's house which was air-conditioned. That's pretty consistent with a woman who's about ready to give birth [[and is v-e-r-y uncomfortable, nevermind the blistering hot July), and a spouse who's going to stay by her side. Also, my reading of the story shows 1) the house being set on fire before the robbery, and 2) the neighbor talking about stealing their belongings after the couple left, the ensuing fire, and the robbery.

Is my chronology way off, or is yours?

[thecarl]

Something just smells fishy about this. It is difficult to fathom that an entire neighborhood would conspire for no reason to burn a home and steal their stuff. Either this couple is pulling a fast one or the things they saw all over the neighborhood that were theirs had previously belonged to the neighbors.

If this is a scam, the insurance investigators will be able to put the pieces together quickly. However, it's not out of the realm of possibilities that a family was targeted by, and was the victim of, a jealous mob. Kids in Detroit who do well in school are often ostracized and bullied by the "status quo." It's not so difficult to fathom.

If for some reason this is a neighborhood from The Twilight Zone where things like this actually happen and the victimized couple is completely innocent, I agree with not being able to go back there... but there are plenty of other neighborhoods in the city. THERE IS NO NEED TO RUN TO SUBURBIA TO BE "SAFE."

You need to ride the buses around the city of Detroit and preach this message to the myriad of folks who are tired of the crime but are attached to the city in some way - usually, because they are caring for older relatives. You can tell them they will be safe if they move to [insert Detroit neighborhood here].

There is a reason that suburbs are called such. The prefix "Sub" refers to that which is below. Subterrain. Subhuman. Suburban. Same thing.

Did the human race start with people who all lived in big cities, then spread out into smaller cities? Hence, "subhumans?" And did you consider that "sub" is a prefix that also denotes size, and not necessarily quality, as you infer?

Looking upon the city as a vast wasteland with nothing that makes it worth living in is not any sort of way to live. If that's the case, why do you even choose to live near such a place? The suburbs are but an extension of the city. If you view the city as worthless, then you are merely living in a meaningless place near a worthless place.

Nobody is saying the city is a wasteland, or is worthless. But, Detroit is a frustrating and decaying community. And I think it's more accurate to say the city and suburbs are in a symbiotic relationship, rather than to say that the suburbs are an extension of the city. One could easily put forth the chicken-and-the-egg argument here. However, I missed your extrapolation concerning how suburbs are meaningless.

Enjoy it while you can. The city's problems are yours as well.

Yep.

Besides, whatever you think of the city, the rest of the world views you as even less.

Seems like every successive remark you made has a bong hit in between.

[jtf1972]

Seems like every successive remark you made has a bong hit in between.

Haven't touched the stuff in a long time. Made a dent in the Jamaican Rum today though... then went for a bike ride through Brush Park.

[poobert]

Poobert, the article says the family left the home because they were without electricity, and they sought relief from the heat at a relative's house which was air-conditioned. That's pretty consistent with a woman who's about ready to give birth [[and is v-e-r-y uncomfortable, nevermind the blistering hot July), and a spouse who's going to stay by her side. Also, my reading of the story shows 1) the house being set on fire before the robbery, and 2) the neighbor talking about stealing their belongings after the couple left, the ensuing fire, and the robbery.

Is my chronology way off, or is yours?

How or why in God's name would you rob a house after you set it on fire?? Please, tell me how you pull a washer and dryer out of a burning building?

Do you wait till the fire is out? In which case, the fire department has water-logged the place after it has burned up. Nothing would be salvagable.

Who overheard the neighbor, then?

I know of and have seen plenty of treacherous evil deeds in the D but this just makes no sense.

[Zacha341]

I thought about that too as I know of a family who had a house fire which highly damaged a quarter of the home. Nearly everything was ruined on some level [[burnt, smoke or water damaged, busted up from the firemen fighting the fire etc).

Perhaps the house was broken into and items removed BEFORE the flames started. I dunno... the who thing seems dysfunction at minimal. And perfectly so in that there is no investigation going forth due to the shortages in the policing and fire/ arson departments!

For sure there are area so predatory [[reported many times) where you go out the door to go work and in come the 'neighborhood' watch with impunity! As others look on and do nothing or purchase the goods as the are sold.

How or why in God's name would you rob a house after you set it on fire?? Please, tell me how you pull a washer and dryer out of a burning building?

Do you wait till the fire is out? In which case, the fire department has water-logged the place after it has burned up. Nothing would be salvagable.

Who overheard the neighbor, then?

I know of and have seen plenty of treacherous evil deeds in the D but this just makes no sense.

[thecarl]

I thought about that too as I know of a family who had a house fire which highly damaged a quarter of the home. Nearly everything was ruined on some level [[burnt, smoke or water damaged, busted up from the firemen fighting the fire etc).

Perhaps the house was broken into and items removed BEFORE the flames started. I dunno... the who thing seems dysfunction at minimal. And perfectly so in that there is no investigation going forth due to the shortages in the policing and fire/ arson departments!

For sure there are area so predatory [[reported many times) where you go out the door to go work and in come the 'neighborhood' watch with impunity! As others look on and do nothing or purchase the goods as the are sold.

If the sequence occurred as was reported in the story, then perhaps the person plotting the larceny meant to start a small fire, and have the fire department bust down whatever burglar bars may have been on the house? I would agree that typically the fire occurs after the fact, to cover up evidence such as fingerprints. But the story says that people were pulling items from the home before DFD cleared the scene. Any way you slice it, it doesn't sound like there was much love for the family.

[getmoore]

Sound familiar?
http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/18...n-familys-home