FAIRBANKS -- A North Pole family grieving the death of a member was hit by a second blow after discovering a thief had been raiding the man's home and workshop.
Someone looted the home of Whitey Christman, making off with an estimated $100,000 in tools and art, after he died. The theft spurred survivors to auction off remaining items Saturday, earlier than planned.
"That people would do this ... It makes you speechless," said Alaska state trooper Kirsten Hansen, who is investigating the thefts.
Christman died at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital on June 12 of injuries from a self-inflicted gunshot. He had been depressed, his wife, Andi Christman said.
Christman collected cars, generators, tools and car parts.
The first theft happened within a week of Christman's death. Andi Christman, who separated from her husband three years ago and does not live on the property, and one of her two daughters stopped by and noticed someone had gained access to the workshop.
Two four-wheelers, wheels from an antique car and various tools were missing. The thief or thieves took their time, using a battery charger to charge batteries for the four-wheelers and using a jack to remove the antique car wheels.
Later, the family discovered a propane heater and custom-made seat cushions for a bus converted to a motor home were gone. During a subsequent visit, survivors discovered a thief had taken items from the house. Snatched were more tools, including woodworking equipment, watches and a wooden box handcrafted by Whitey.
The property has since been secured, Andi Christman said.
She is most upset over the theft of her husband's machinist tools, which he had owned for decades and which carried sentimental value.
"Those machinist tools, that was him," Andi Christman said.
Christman and her daughters suspect someone who knew her husband is the culprit. Only someone familiar with the property would know that a bus-turned-motor home contained valuables.
The bus rests among a graveyard of junked vehicles and looked like one itself. It was covered with dirt and rust and hardly looked worth entering.
"You wouldn't even go in there unless you knew," said daughter Theresa Christman, 21.
