SOUTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) -- Local police said it was a classic holiday Grinch tale: A home broken into on Christmas Eve, and wrapped presents stolen off a kitchen table.
But police now say the Grinch was two little kids: a 9-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy.
South Brunswick police Detective Jim Ryan said Friday that the kids used a Blockbuster gift card to pick the lock on the back door of a home a block away.
They then took about $200 in wrapped presents that were located on a kitchen table, including Hannah Montana and Jonas Brothers CDs.
The couple who lived in the home returned from some Christmas Eve shopping to find the house broken into, and the presents, intended for a niece, gone, Ryan said.
Eventually, one of the children's relatives, who also lived in the neighborhood, spoke with the couple and realized the gifts that had been taken matched some mysterious extra presents that the children appeared to received on Christmas.
The relative contacted the children's mother, who got the truth out of them on Wednesday, and then contacted police.
Ryan said he didn't immediately know why the young children would go to such lengths to get presents. He said charges weren't planned against the kids.
"A 9- and 5-year-old would never be on our suspect list. For a burglary? Maybe for taking a bike or something like that, but not for a burglary,'' Ryan said.
The names of the children were not released since they are underage.
E-Mail Story
Print Story
