Parma Police find $750,000 in stolen coins in Lakewood home

PARMA -- An Akron coin collector forced out of business by thieves recovered nearly three quarters of a million dollars of his inventory.

Parma Police recovered the coins from a Lakewood home last week.

Police say they were hidden behind a wall in the home of Eva Knight-Trower and her husband, Howard.

The couple is family to accused burglar Kevin Hartman.

Parma police say Hartman and an alleged accomplice stole cash and merchandise from several Parma businesses, as well as at Chet's Coin Shop.

"Seems like a pretty high-risk occupation," Chet Endress said. "It's a wonder somebody didn't kill them. I just can't understand it. I would never do it -- when a guy spends all his life doing this, they take it in two or three hours. It just isn't right."

Parma investigators say the suspects knew they were caught and stored the loot for when they got out of jail. Because they are coins and collectibles, the value would only increase over time.