Resident in Fear After Home Is Entered, Death Threats Left

A Wauwatosa man whose home had been broken into once, with nothing taken, found it had happened again a week later – only this time, chilling death threats were spray-painted all over his home, inside and out.

Both incidents happened in June, but police did not release the report on the second and more frightening burglary until this week while they investigated. But with no luck so far, they are hoping a member of the public can tell them who "The Mantice" might be.

On June 22, the owner of the home in the 7500 block of Hennessy Avenue returned about 1 p.m. after being away since 3 p.m. the day before.

He first found that the word "Dead" spray-painted on the outside of two windows. When he went inside, he found his home had again been broken into and there were more direct threats painted there.

On a wall in the hallway were the words "Your dead." On the door to a spare bedroom was the word "Die."

Finally, what is presumed to be a calling card, "The Mantice" was spray-painted on a kitchen wall.

As in the previous entry, the victim found no property missing, even though there were items such as a Sony Playstation and a snow board out in plain view.

In the first break-in, on June 14, a screen had been cut and the unlatched window raised.

On June 22, the owner and police found that a window had been forced open. There was no latch or lock, but the man had nailed two strips of wood above the sash to keep it from being opened. Those were found split away.

Police noted that in a separate report from June 22, the word "Die" had been spray-painted twice on the walls of the former Pius X Elementary School building at 2506 Wauwatosa Avenue, less than a block away from the Hennessey Avenue home.

A police officer did an internet search for "The Mantice" and found nothing.

A "mantis," however, is a large, famously predatory insect with a voracious appetite and the ability to capture and kill prey as large as itself. "M.A.N.T.I.S." was also the title of a science fiction TV series in 1994-'95, featuring a vigilante paralyzed in a police shooting who built a mechanical, powered exoskeleton.

Anyone with any information about an individual going under the guise of "The Mantice" is encouraged to call the Wauwatosa police, 414-471-8430, or Wauwatosa Crime Stoppers, 414-771-8672.