PORTSMOUTH, Va. — A Virginia family is seeking justice after finding a hidden camera in their rental home's shower, followed by a fire that destroyed everything they owned just two weeks later.
Sineathia and Barry Boone said they discovered the camera behind a two-way mirror in their shower in December 2022 after hearing a strange sound coming from the bathroom wall.
"We started hearing like a ring," Sineathia Boone said.
The discovery was particularly disturbing as the shower was used by the entire family of four, including two teenagers.
"You had a camera filming kids, filming my wife and me in the shower. I mean, that is the most devastating, torturous thing you could do," Barry Boone said.
The family showed WTKR video they took the day they discovered the hidden device in their rental home on the 400 block of North Street in Olde Towne Portsmouth.
Watch: Video shows moment Portsmouth family finds hidden camera in shower of rental home
Contractors found the camera with cords attached behind the two-way mirror, which had been in place since they moved in 16 months earlier.
"The cord ran all the way through the home… and it ran all the way upstairs on our third floor in the office," Sineathia Boone said.
Portsmouth Police told WTKR they retrieved a hard drive connected to the camera but found no files or recordings. They also sent the hard drive to a federal law enforcement agency for analysis, which similarly found no evidence.
"Therefore, due to a lack of evidence, no one was charged," police said.
When WTKR reached out to the FBI, they referred all inquiries back to the Portsmouth Police Department as the lead investigative agency.
Ricardo Frost, Vice President of RFK Solutionz, a Chesapeake cybersecurity company, told WTKR the setup was "very disturbing" and suggested live-streaming was a possibility despite the lack of stored recordings.
"That's definitely possible from the placement of the cameras, the type of equipment that the cameras were using, the Ethernet connections," Frost said. "It's definitely possible there could have been a livestream that was happening in real time. That might be one of the reasons why they were not able to find any information or data on the hard drives."
It remains unclear if investigators considered live-streaming as part of their investigation.
"It was strategically put there. Someone had to put the time to cut a hole, put a camera in there and then run all these wires up to the motherboard that was found upstairs in the closet," Sineathia Boone said.
Approximately two weeks after discovering the camera, the Boones' home caught fire, destroying all their possessions.
Their teenage son was home alone sleeping when the house became "engulfed," according to Sineathia Boone.
She said he was only awakened by a timely call from his girlfriend.
The family suspects the fire may have been caused by the camera's wiring inside the walls.
WTKR has requested fire reports from the city and am awaiting a response.
The tragedy continued when Barry Boone cut his leg while returning to the burned house days later. The infection from that injury ultimately led to the amputation of his leg.
The Boones have hired new legal representation and continue seeking answers.
