Sigma Pi broken into

The Sigma Pi fraternity house was burglarized Monday while the fraternity's members were painting a Jordan Avenue bridge in commemoration of Nicholas Habicht who died from a house fire Sunday.\nHabicht, a member of the fraternity, died Sunday from a fire that also took the lives of two other students.\nThe burglary was discovered when three brothers went to the house to pick up some belongings. When they arrived at the house, they noticed doors had been kicked in. \nIU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger said 47 of about 50 doors were kicked in.\nAccording to the police report, two vehicles were seen taking off from the parking lot with several occupants inside the vehicles. \nThe vehicles were said to be an older model Chevrolet Blazer and a Ford Taurus. The intruders are suspected to have gained entry on the south side of the building. \n"(They entered by) getting on top of the shed and going through an unlocked window," Minger said. Senior Paul Young, Sigma Pi's historian, thinks the burglary was planned.\n"I think it was well thought out," Young said. \nPossessions were moved into the hallway during the burglary, possibly enabling the suspects to work faster by transferring the belongings to the car more efficiently, Young said. \nAt the time, damage to the property wasn't foreseeable, Minger said.\nYoung had over $2,000 worth of items missing from his room. Damage to his room and the rest of the house resulted from the burglary, he said. \nHabicht also had possessions missing from his room. \nThe police report was called in by junior Thomas McNicholas, one of the brothers who had gone to the house to pick up some belongings for the summer. \nHe reported missing a picture of the Chicago Skyline valued at $300, Minger said.\nThe burglary was a shock for many brothers because they did not expect such an act after Habicht's death. \n"I was really frustrated because of the situation," Young said. "It was a couple days after we learned of a tragic event."\nSigma Pi President junior Josh Robb was also unnerved by the burglary's timing and he said the fraternity is trying to cope with the recent losses.\n"I was shocked. A lot has happened in the past week," Robb said. "We're trying to go day by day and find out what happened." \n-- Contact staff writer Andrea Opperman at acopperm@indiana.edu.