“I get out of the shower with a towel around me, I'm dripping wet. I see two figures right outside my bedroom door saying, ‘This is the police. We have a search warrant,’” said homeowner Liz Skarlatos.
That search warrant came because a family member watched a 7 On Your Side interview with Liz Skarlatos about guardianship court disputes involving her elderly father.
According to a search warrant obtained by the ABC7 I-Team, that viewer noticed some heirloom teapots and vases she believed belonged to her, told a Fairfax County Police detective who filed a larceny search warrant.
Liz' brother Matt was at the house when the search warrant was served.
“It was an awful use of the police's time and talent,” he recalled.
Fairfax County Police declined to answer questions about the search warrant other than stating procedure was followed. The search warrant itself states no other reason for sending several officers into the home of two people with no reported criminal history looking for heirlooms and documents.
In another bad day for the Skarlatos family, their father Paul Skarlatos, at the center of the guardianship dispute, died at his assisted living home July 16.
"These are family heirlooms that belong to my mother and father through my mother’s side of the family and they were given to us by our parents,” said Liz Skarlatos, who has gathered photographs she says establishes ownership of the heirlooms through the decades.
Weeks after the home seizures, there are still no charges filed against the Skarlatos siblings. The heirlooms remain with police.
“Quite honestly the most horrifying experience of my life,” added Liz Skarlatos. “I haven't been able to sleep very well. I'm taking a shower 2 hours early because I want to make sure I'm dressed in case someone busts my door down…Families should be absolutely scrutinizing any final arrangements they have with their loved ones.”
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Police can seize heirlooms in family disputes
Something's missing here.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of this. How can law enforcement seize property without knowing whom it really belongs to via a civil court battle?
ReplyDeleteThis makes about as much sense to me as guardianship.
ReplyDelete