VERMILION — The public funeral for homicide victim Jeremy Simko was canceled Monday afternoon as the case continues to twist and turn.

Jack Bradley, attorney for Simko’s wife, Julene, said Monday that the funeral will be a private ceremony for family only.

Gluvna-Shimo-Hromada Funeral Chapel in Lorain, which is handling arrangements for Simko, said that while there will be no public funeral service, calling hours are still going to be 3 to 7 p.m. today at the funeral home on 3224 Broadway in Lorain.

The Vermilion home where Simko was murdered last week has been broken into twice since police wrapped up their investigation, according to Bradley.

Vermilion Police Chief Bob Kish said police were called to the scene about 2 p.m. yesterday when Simko’s family reported the home had been broken into.

“We’re investigating entries to the residence,” Kish said. He wouldn’t say what if anything was taken or the manner in which entry was made.

Bradley said he went to the house with Julene Simko and her mother at 2:30 p.m. Saturday to review the crime scene, and the three noticed it appeared someone had tried to pry open a safe in the home’s entrance hallway.

There were no signs of forced entry to the home, and the three assumed at the time that investigators had damaged the safe during their processing of the crime scene, Bradley said.

Police then were called to the residence late Saturday or early Sunday because neighbors heard dogs barking, Bradley said.

Julene Simko went to the home again on Sunday afternoon to get clothing for her husband’s funeral and noticed there had been another break-in attempt, Bradley said.

“A living room window was open, and the deadbolt was punched out of the front door,” Bradley said. The safe was more heavily damaged this time, he said, but the burglars still did not manage to get into it.

The safe had contained weapons, but they were all taken by police, and the safe contained nothing of any value, according to Bradley.

“There had been break-ins in that neighborhood for a while,” Bradley said when asked if Julene Simko had any idea what the burglars might be looking for.

Police took the Simkos’ surveillance equipment, but Bradley said he was confident there would be increased security in the area by Vermilion police.

“They would like to catch the person or persons who did this,” Bradley said, adding that doing so could possibly aid their murder investigation.

“There are many things people have jumped to conclusions about” after Jeremy Simko’s death, Bradley said. “Based on the new developments, we hope they will rethink those conclusions.”

Contact Rona Proudfoot at 329-7124 or rproudfoot@chroniclet.com and Melissa Hebert at 329-7129
or mhebert@chroniclet.com.

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