Massachusetts man accused of breaking into homes while residents attend funeral

A Massachusetts man has been dubbed the obit bandit after allegedly committing several robberies while residents attended funerals and police are looking for other possible break-ins that he committed.

Over the past several months Barnstable Detectives have been investigating several B&E’s in which the suspect breaks into the homes of people who are attending the wake or funeral services for a recently deceased loved one.
Through investigation, Barnstable Detectives were able to develop Randy J. Brunelle, a 35 year old resident of Plymouth, as a possible suspect.
In 2012, Brunelle broke into a Sandwich Police Officers mother’s home while the officer was attending her funeral. Plymouth Police were able to tie Brunelle to that Daytime Felony B&E through a fingerprint left at the scene, and Brunelle was found guilty of the crime and served 18 months in the Plymouth House of Correction.
Since his release, Brunelle is suspected of using the same modus operandi as he did in the 2012 Plymouth case, by preying on people who are attending the wakes and funerals of loved ones.
On Friday evening, Barnstable Police were alerted to Brunelle’s presence on Cape Cod. Detectives then spotted Brunelle’s gray Honda Civic in Cotuit and began to follow it, while other detectives fanned out to possible locations of relatives attending funeral services in the Barnstable area. Detectives quickly discovered a house break at an address in Cotuit and Brunelle’s vehicle was subsequently pulled over by detectives in Plymouth as he was headed to his home.
After conducting the motor vehicle stop, Barnstable Detectives located jewelry in Brunelle’s sweat shirt pockets. Brunelle was placed under arrest and brought back to the scene of the crime in Cotuit. The homeowner then returned from her mother’s wake and positively identified the jewelry as being stolen from her home.
Brunelle was charged with B&E Nighttime with intent to commit a Felony. In addition, Brunelle was charged with 2 Counts of Felony B&E and Larceny from a Building regarding 2 separate house breaks that occurred in September and December of 2017 in Osterville while the widows were attending the funeral services for their late husbands.
A relative of Brunelle was able to raise the $5000 bail he was held on and he was released from the Barnstable Police Department on Saturday morning. He is scheduled to be arraigned for the above charges on Monday February 12th at Barnstable District Court.
Beyond the Barnstable cases, Randy J. Brunelle is suspected of breaking into numerous homes in the Plymouth and Mashpee area.
If you have been the victim of a B&E while you were attending a wake or funeral service in the last several years, please email Detective Lieutenant Mark Mellyn at mellynm@barnstablepolice.com