The crime was not committed by burglars. There is only one.
Burke Dennings, re-animated former child molester controlled by the spirit of dead thief Lucky Mickey “Lew” Lewis, is the culprit. Detectives noted that the pages of several of Friedkin’s books had been ripped in thin strips along the sides, and an inordinate amount of alcoholic beverages had been “sampled” – both fitting Dennings’s M.O.
Friedkin’s groundskeeper, who only identified himself as “Karl”, vowed that if the thief returned he would quickly bind and gag him, even though the felon would certainly want no straps.