A Pierceton man was arrested Tuesday for allegedly burglarizing a deceased woman’s home in September.

Christopher Wayne Burnworth, 36, of 8280 E. U.S. 30, #29E, Pierceton, was arrested and booked into the Kosciusko County Jail at 9:11 a.m. Tuesday for burglary of a dwelling. His preliminary bond was set at $30,250.

Court documents filed March 22 list the charges against him as burglary, a level 4 felony; and theft, a Class A misdemeanor.

On Sept. 20, Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department deputy Kreg Kuhn responded to a burglary. He met with a woman who said her mother had died and she had inherited her residence. The woman said sometime between Sept. 11 and Sept. 20, somebody forced entry into her late mother’s residence and stole items. Kuhn found where the rear door screen had been cut to unlock the door and get inside an enclosed porch. A pry tool was used to force the door open. The woman said moldable pieces of jewelry had been stolen.



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Kuhn spoke with a neighbor who said on Sept. 19 she was awaken by dogs barking. The next morning, the neighbor told her husband about the dogs. He checked on the residence and found two exterior window screens had been removed from the frame and he notified the deceased woman’s daughter.

Pierceton Town Marshal Tim Sammons spoke with a man who said Burnworth came to his residence in Pierceton and tried to sell him jewelry. A second man was present with the man when Burnworth was there. Burnworth told the first man an elderly woman died and her residence was next to his mother’s home. Burnworth allegedly said he entered the deceased woman’s residence by crawling through a window. Inside the house he said there were jewelry, antiques and a television. Burnworth then allegedly displayed the jewelry to the man. Burnworth told him a couple of days later he returned to the residence and stole more items.

Sammons then spoke with the second man who said during the fall he was at the first man’s residence when Burnworth came there with jewelry. The first man refused to buy the jewelry and Burnworth asked him to hold on to the jewelry until he could find a buyer. He advised he did not want his “old lady” to find the jewelry and take it from him. The second man took the jewelry to his residence, but later handed it over to Sammons.

The deceased woman’s daughter was able to identify the jewelry.