Men Break Into Home Of Bartlesville Teacher, Late Mother

Two Bartlesville brothers are devastated after their late mother’s house was broken into, and the thieves stole thousands of dollars of precious family heirlooms.

Chris and Jeff Cauthen say the thieves took things like their mom’s fruitcake recipe, her jewelry, and guitars they made in high school.

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But they believe the real victims are the three burglars, who, instead of building a life of their own, are taking from others.

Home security footage shows three men taking several items from a house in Bartlesville.

The home belonged to the Cauthens’ mother, and Jeff lives there right now.

“Went to go in the house as I usually do, and the front door was already open,” said Jeff. “And I was like, ‘That’s weird.’ I went inside and went to the kitchen and found out they had kicked the back door to the garage and kicked in the door to the kitchen.”

Chris says it’s especially heartbreaking because Jeff is a teacher and has spent nearly 30 years giving back to his community.

In addition to the heirlooms, they also stole magic tricks Jeff uses to teach and a shotgun belonging to their grandfather.

“It’s a lot easier to destroy than it is to create,” said Chris. “It is a lot easier to neglect than it is to nurture. It is a lot easier to steal than it is to earn. I just wanted to put that message out to the community and the would-be robbers.”

They believe the thieves stole about $7,000 worth of items, and they are still finding things missing.

They are grateful they had cameras and hope others will do the same.

“The thing that I would take away from this, for the neighbors, get to know your neighbors,” said Chris. “Put up security cameras so people can actually see that there are security cameras around the house.”

They say their parents would be upset to see their stuff gone but proud of them for the way they’ve handled it.

“You two need to be with each other and lift each other up and be there for each other when we’re not around anymore,” said Jeff. “That’s what we’re doing.”

Bartlesville Police have identified the three suspects as Jase Murguia, Zachary Kight, and Landon Barnard.

All three have warrants out for their arrest.