Darien Divorcee Breaks Into House For Cat: Cops

DARIEN, IL – A Darien man whose wife just divorced him broke into her house earlier this month to retrieve a cat and the title to the house, police said.

Patch obtained the Darien police report through a public records request.

About 1 a.m. Dec. 6, the 29-year-old man messaged his ex-wife that he had just broken into her house in the 7800 block of Warwick Avenue, according to the report.

A few days earlier, a judge issued a default divorce judgment to the 29-year-old woman. That's because the man had not answered the court, even though he had been served with papers in August, police said.

The divorce order gave the woman sole ownership of the house. She changed the locks a day before the break-in, police said.

When the police arrived, the woman's father gave them the key to the house. While the doorknob unlocked, the deadbolt did not. Police said they later found the deadbolt was wrapped with an extension cord, preventing it from being unlocked.

A door to the garage appeared to have been broken into with a landscaping stone, with fresh blood on the damaged door, police said.

Officers got through an unlocked back door and had the woman's permission to check the house.

They found the 29-year-old man sitting inside a closet, police said. He said he lived in the house.

He told officers that he arrived in an Uber and used a rock to break the garage door, resulting in cuts to his hands. He said he wanted the cat and the home's title.

After failing to provide proof of ownership, the man was charged with misdemeanor criminal damage to property and criminal trespass to a residence.

The man recalled being served with papers in August, but said he believed the paperwork came from solicitors, police said.

An officer collected several of the man's belongings from the house.

The man was taken to the BP gas station on Route 83 in Willowbrook and told he was no longer allowed at the house.