MUSKEGON — Beneath mounds of plaster dust, crushed glass, crumbled ceiling tiles and slashed couch cushions, it’s plain to see the home of Griffetta and Vernard Jones was once a well-kept, elaborately decorated home.

HOW YOU CAN HELP Anyone with information about the vandalism at 43 W. Forest in Muskegon is asked to call Silent Observer at (231) 72-CRIME or Muskegon Police at (231) 724-6750.

But the unfathomable mess the Muskegon couple came home to Sunday morning after a Valentine weekend away is a homeowner’s worst nightmare.

“It’s pretty horrific,” said a stoic 36-year-old Griffetta, standing in a room only slightly resembling the former living room she recently redecorated.

“I’m so numb I can’t cry anymore. I’m totally in shock. It was my dream home. I loved it. I just don’t understand.”

The vandalism authorities discovered around 3:45 a.m. Sunday inside the blue, two-story home at 43 W. Forest was so severe that the Joneses can’t even stay there.

And Griffetta’s blue, 2002 Jaguar parked in the attached garage was destroyed as well, according to a police report.

Adding insult to injury, Griffetta said, is the racial slur discovered etched in the Jaguar’s paint: “Hate N-----.”

The Joneses are African-American.

“The racial slur was extremely harsh. I’m very upset about my house, but to see that — that really hurt,” Griffetta said.

No other signs of racial slurs were immediately evident.

The couple, who arrived to the damaged home around 6:30 a.m. Sunday, are being assisted by Red Cross officials and staying in a local hotel while authorities try to sort out the incident.

It isn’t clear what, if anything, was taken from the home.

“We walked in the house and we just fell. I couldn’t believe it. I was crying hysterically,” said Griffetta.

No suspects had been identified as of Monday. Griffetta said the home and vehicle were insured.

Meanwhile, an intense investigation was under way, said Muskegon Detective Sgt. Monica Shirey, noting that the amount of damage done to the interior of the Forest Avenue home makes it the worst case of vandalism she has ever seen.

“The entire residence was demolished,” she said, adding that both the interior and exterior of the home had been damaged with red paint.

The Joneses say they can’t imagine a motive for such a crime.

“I go to work and I come home and that’s it. And my husband is the friendliest person you’d ever meet,” said Griffetta, a machine operator at a local plant. “I have no idea why us. We don’t bother anybody. We have been sitting in our hotel thinking, ‘What did we do to someone to deserve this?’”

Vernard, who is on disability, said he has no idea why they were targeted.

“We have opened our home to anyone who needs it,” he said.

Shirey said authorities were led to the Joneses’ home after a nearby resident reported finding red paint thrown on the side of his home and vehicle. The neighbors’ home and vehicle suffered far less damage than the Joneses’, she said.

“While investigating that incident, officers checked the area for suspects and noticed that 43 W. Forest had a garage entry door covered in red paint,” she said.

Upon entering the home, authorities discovered an indescribable scene: walls full of holes apparently made with a sledgehammer; sinks and toilets smashed to pieces; cut up furniture cushions; broken windows and picture frames; televisions, stereos and appliances turned over; and personal belongings strewn all over the 2,600-square-foot home.

Even the couple’s basement furnace was smashed in.

“This is unreal,” said 45-year-old Vernard. “When I came into the house and saw it, I fell to my knees. It’s worse than a house fire. They got it all.”

E-mail Heather Lynn Peters at