A home located at Ridge Pike at Pine Ridge Drive in Lafayette Hill, Whitemarsh Township, was recently occupied illegally by a former owner's daughter and boyfriend, police said. (Credit: Google StreetView)
The two were illegally trespassing and appeared to be squatting in the former chiropractic office, according to police.
Police said that a couple who’d broken into a former family business were secretly living on the Whitemarsh Township property for a few weeks before they were discovered by an employee hired to winterize the building.
Whitemarsh Township Police Department reported that Claudia Kathryn Kunf, 23, of the 500 block of Ridge Pike in Lafayette Hill, and Frederick Ch Bowman, 34, of the 8700 block of Wissahickon Ave., in Philadelphia, were both found by police after a call of “suspicious activity” led them to a former business place.
On Monday, Nov. 4 around 7:43 a.m., an employee hired to winterize and seal the property on the 500 block of Ridge Pike in Whitemarsh Township, formerly known as a chiropractic business, arrived at the building to begin his process with a walk thru. However, according to police reports, the hired hand noticed broken glass and an open window prior to entering. The man said no one was to be inside the location.
Whitemarsh Township Police Department arrived at the scene to find a male and female sleeping in an upstairs bedroom, said the criminal complaints. Police said that the “bedroom was full of personal belongings” which included clothes, an air mattress, and “other miscellaneous items.” Police identified the two as Kunf and Bowman.
Since serving as a chiropractic office owned by Donald Kunf, Claudia’s father, the property had been sold to the Montgomery County Transportation Authority (MCTA). Kunf did not have any ownership to the building at this time, and told police, according to their complaint, Claudia should not have a key as he “had taken it back from her.”
A Right-of-Way project manager told police that she had walked through the property on Oct. 17, and that no glass was broken then, and that “everything appeared apparently normal.” A planner with MCTA agreed no person should be residing in the residence, police said.
Claudia Kunf spoke to police, recorded on body camera after she was read her Miranda rights, and said the two had entered the building through a front window, later continuing further into the house by breaking a window, said police.
Claudia Kunf was charged with criminal mischief, a summary offense, as well as felony grade criminal trespassing, breaking into a structure. She was released on a bond signature and was due to face Magisterial District Judge Dara Nasatir on Nov. 13 at 11:45 a.m. for a preliminary hearing.
Bowman was charged with the same offenses and was also released on a bond signature. He too is to be before the same judge on the same date and time for a preliminary hearing.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
