New York husband bulldozes house while wife is away

NEW YORK (KABC) -- A New York woman said she came home to find that her husband had bulldozed their suburban home while she was away.

"None of my belongings were taken out," said Diane Andryshak, who is the legal owner of the house. "Everything was in the house."

Andryshak said she can't understand why her husband tore down their home in Middletown, which is located about 60 miles northwest of New York City.

Police said 48-year-old James Rhein rented an excavator and knocked down the single-family home Monday morning with all of their belongs inside.

Andryshak came home to an empty lot and still hasn't gotten any answers from her husband of nine years.

"We were not fighting. We were not arguing," Andryshak said. "I don't know what happened. I don't know anything."

The couple was in the middle of a renovation, so Andryshak and her neighbors said they don't understand what he was thinking.

"I asked him just kidding around if he was going to knock down the house with a bulldozer, and he said, 'Yeah.' I thought he was kidding," said Steve Belfiglio, a neighbor.

Rhein allegedly told investigators that the house on Woodland Avenue was in such bad shape that it couldn't be repaired. So he got rid of it.

The problem is - he didn't get a permit and the utility companies were not notified. So, emergency calls were made to shut off the water, electric and gas after the demolition.

Fortunately no one was hurt. Rhein is charged with criminal mischief and was released on $300 bail.