Woman used obituaries to target burglary victims, police say

PRICEVILLE, Ala. — An Alabama woman used obituary notices to target her victims in a series of burglaries, WHNT reported.

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Jennifer Lynn Azizian, of Madison, faces four counts of third-degree burglary and one count of first-degree of criminal mischief, AL.com reported. According to Priceville police, the burglaries occurred while the victims were attending a family member's funeral, the website reported.

“As people were laying their loved ones to rest, little did they know that someone was adding to their grief by breaking into their homes,” Priceville police said in a statement. “It was clear that the suspect had been researching obituaries for some time.”

Officials at the Morgan County Jail said Azizian's total bond was set at $87,800, WHNT reported. She bonded out Thursday afternoon.

Geoff Halbrooks, who has worked at the Peck Funeral Home in Morgan County for 36 years, said social media is making this type of crime easier to commit, the television station reported.

"Look on social media and look at their newspapers and just find those families. There are ways to do that now without a funeral home or anyone else giving their specific address," Halbrooks told WHNT. "We encourage people to maybe have someone to stay at their home when they are away. There are friends and extended family members that would be glad to stay at their home to watch over their personal things while they're handling the affairs of the funeral."

Cox Media Group