Well, that's a tortured sequence but not totally impossible. They would still have to have the PIN and these guys would have to somehow receive the card and PIN of the landlord who, by the time they used it, was known to have been murdered.
Yes, these Perps are incredibly stupid but not in the way you suggest (i.e., 'Set up').
Good point about the PIN. I wonder if the ex-con was a muslim? Our prisons are full of that crap, what with Calypso Louie and all.