You are 100 percent right on all the posts here. It is amazing that people are so misinformed about property rights. The house and all its contents belonged to the husband and wife. If the wife dies, it belongs to the husband 100 percent, including the right to determine who goes in there. IF the property of another person is in the house, for example a lawnmower borrowed by Scott, that person is not allowed to enter and take it. The proper action is to ask a court to get it back for you. It seems that none of the property taken by the Rochas belonged to them. If it belonged to Laci at the time of her death, it belonged to Scott when she died. The Rocha's only right was to ask Scott to give it to them to be a nice guy, which it looks like he was willing to do.
It was a burglary, pure and simple, one which the police allowed to occur while they watched. The Rochas had no colorable right to possess the items they took.
Convict him, sue him in court, get a judgment, then take the house and everything in it. Do it the right way, or else it may be your ex-mother in law with a friend in the police force showing up at your door while you are on vacation and saying it's a civil matter while she steals your stuff.