If you get the Courant, it’d today’s top story. If not, the story is also here. Basic premise is that a brother and sister from Middlefield left their dead mother’s body to rot in their Middlefield home for eight years, and visited her body bi-yearly for the entire time. I might have normally written about it, anyway, since its a crazy story in itself, except that there’s a personal component to it.
In December 2005, Diane and John Simmeck Jr., the brother and sister, were portraying themselves as poor and homeless to the congregation of the Church of the Nazarene in Keene, NH. The family (bro, sis, and mother while still alived) had lived in NH for a few years after the mother divorced her the kid’s father in 1996, so there was a residence connection in NH.
Well, my father’s aunt and uncle (my great-aunt and uncle), the good people that they are, hosted the brother and sister in their home for a year. My dad’s aunt and uncle are pretty poor themselves, so they essentially ended up being used by the two. In December 2006, the Simmeck siblings got kicked out of the house because John stole some tools and gutted the house to the point it was structurally unsound.
I knew all about that part of the story, since my family learned about it at Christmas that month. But nobody knew everything, apparently.
Truth really is sometimes stranger than fiction.
Truth is a word that is not synonymous with the Simmeck’s characters.I think this uncle and his wife are Godly people who did not desearve to have thier kindnesses repayed as they were. John and Diane Simmeck are con artists. Thier game is to find a churche and latch on to good Christian people because they figure they are the most likely to let things go, and forgive without chasing them down. John and Diane have been targeting, Churches and good people within for a long time. They present themselves as needy , complete with a hard luck story, a heartstring tugger. They wait for someone to have compassion and extend a hand of fellowship . Once given shelter inside a home they act greatful and get really helpful as they work to gain confidence and trust. They try to do what needs doing in the name of friendship and gratitude but what they really want is money in exchange for jobs done. They , especially John, look for jobs to do for pay, even creating work to do . Diane is firmly under John’s control but not innocent as she goes along with what he wants her to do. If John is not satisfied, does not get what he feels a job is worth, He and Diane quietly help themselves to what they feel entitled to . What they take is presumably sold for whatever they can get. If something is returned it is returned damaged or missing something, but most of what is “borrowed” or goes missing is never seen again . Eventually people realize they are not as wonderful and helpful as they presented themselves to be but by then the damage has been done and people are left feeling like they made a horrible mistake by doing what they believed was right to do, helping someone in need. Still, people need to keep reaching out to one another, but those that encounter the Simmecks will likely be more careful the next time to know more about the “need” and the people that seek “help.” Please pray that these two are finally held accountable for the damage they have done because so far it seems they just keep getting away with some pretty awful stuff.