Following his wife’s funeral, Bill Bard came home to find that somebody had ransacked his house.

The television was gone. So was a laptop computer, as well as medication Bard needs to treat his diabetes.

Upstairs, somebody had opened all the drawers in his bedroom and thrown the clothes all over the floor.

“I don’t think they were rushed when they were in here,” Bard says.

He’s not the only victim.

Since last week, five local homes – two in Kitchener and one apiece in Waterloo, Cambridge and Woodstock – have been robbed while their occupants were away at funerals.

In two of the cases, homes were clearly rummaged through but nothing appears to have been taken.

“It appeared that whoever’s responsible was just looking for anything valuable that they could take easily,” Waterloo Regional Police spokesperson tells CTV News.

Computers, camera equipment, other electronics, jewelry, money and personal belongings have been reported stolen.

Police say they have no suspects, and don’t believe the break-ins are linked to similar crimes in the Toronto area.

“There’s always a good possibility these are copycat-type crimes,” says Heinzel.

Bard says his door was locked, and while that’s one deterrent to burglars, funeral directors say sometimes more is required.

Michelle Glendenning, a funeral director at Henry Walser Funeral Home in Kitchener, says one option is to have somebody watch the home during the funeral.

 “Most families have a friend or acquaintance that says ‘How can we help you?’ Maybe that is their help – instead of coming to the funeral, they would stay at the home,” she says.

Some funeral homes also offer to send staff members to watch homes during funerals – a service Glendenning says more people took advantage of several years ago, the last time Waterloo Region saw a series of burglaries during funerals.

“It’s really sad for a family going through such a tragedy to have someone in the community … make it even worse for them,” she says.

Anyone with information can contact police at 519-650-8500 ext. 6397 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.