Repentant Christian Thief Returns Money and Apologizes to Victims in Brazil
An unidentified thief, who stole from a house in Tatuí, Sao Paulo in Brazil, has stunned police after he returned the money and left an apology letter. The thief claimed to be an evangelical Christian, explaned the reason he committed the crime, and furthermore gave tips on how the owners could better protect their home.
The police said the burglar broke into the house through the couple's bedroom window with a screwdriver, taking two envelopes of R$ 400 (around $196 USD). According to G1 publication, the couple had saved the money to pay their household bills.
However, the owners were left shocked when soon after the burglary they received an envelope delivered to their door with part of the money (around $122 USD) and a hand-written letter. The thief justified the theft and apologized to the victim.
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"I beg your pardon. I did it in a time of despair, because I've been unemployed awhile. I stole it, but I'm returning the money because I know the Gospel and God's laws," he said, according to the same publication.
In the letter the evangelical thief also told the owners of the house how he broke in and gave them advice about how they could stop anyone else breaking in the same way: "Put a padlock on the windows. Hugs."
Despite the shown repentance of the thief and the return of part of the money, the Brazilian officer Alexandre Andreucci, who is leading the investigation into the case, said it will not diminish his sentence and if caught he could face two to eight years in prison.
However, the authorities have confirmed the rarity of such an incident in the area: "In 20 years of being in the police force, I've never seen a record of an event like this."
