Family Rattled By Graffiti On Hardwick Home
HARDWICK (CBS) – A family's memorial to a son who served in the Marines is now ruined by graffiti. The homeowners in the quiet town of Hardwick are puzzled, wondering who might be targeting them.
David and Linda Fortier's yard is an eclectic display; it is part memorial to their son who committed suicide, part religious verse and part tribute to Israel, even though they're not Jewish.
Someone painted a swastika on the road and their house. The Fortiers suspect the graffiti is connected to more than two dozen vile and venomous letters which began arriving two years ago.
The couple's daughter wants them to move immediately. "This is not a place for them to be right now," Jody Krstyen says. "They need to leave for their own safety."
Just over the weekend, a threatening letter accused David of child abuse, a recurring theme and wished the couple death. Police say DNA and handwriting analysis have led nowhere.
"They think that we're doing it to ourselves to make trouble for people around here, but we're not," Linda Fortier said.
The Fortiers admit feuds with some neighbors, hunters and folks at town hall have not made them especially popular in rural Hardwick.
"They hate my guts for some reason," David Fortier said.
Fortier says it's anyone's right to frown on his beliefs, or dislike him, but two years of nasty letters with a swastika on top is way overboard.
"I think they're going to burn the house down, I think they are going to kill us," Linda Fortier said.
After more than three decades in their modest country home, the Fortiers plan to stay put.
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