'I don't have them any more': Thief steals widow's keepsakes
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SEATTLE - Members of a West Seattle family are trying to rebuild their lives after they were targeted in a heartbreaking burglary.
A thief stole a widow's most treasured belongings - and an irreplacable link to her deceased husband.
"It took me a while to get over the initial shock and anger of it," says Anna, who doesn't want her last name publicized.
It was bad enough that the burglar broke out her window and stole her son's brand new X-Box on Friday.
But when Anna rushed into her bedroom after the burglary she soon discovered the extent of her losses.
Missing were iPod Nanos which had pictures of her daughter when she was first born and of her husband that she hadn't been able to download - so they're gone, too.
Anna is still waiting to hear if her homeowner's insurance will cover the monetary losses. But the likely thousands of dollars in material losses mean nothing compared to the damage to her heart.
"The wedding ring set - mine and my husband's," says Anna. "That was the keepsake I had from my marriage. My husband died, and I don't have them any more."
Anna had just moved her family to the West Seattle home for a fresh start after her 38-year-old husband died suddenly last year from an undiagnosed heart problem.
"It's just another thing that we have to deal with," she says.
She believes the burglar chose her home randomly - walked right through her backyard gate to commit his crime. But he stole more than just stuff - the crook stole her kids' sense of security.
But thankfully, her memories are still locked away safe in her heart.
Says Anna: "The things they took represent so much goodness - and we still have the goodness, and they can't take that."
A thief stole a widow's most treasured belongings - and an irreplacable link to her deceased husband.
"It took me a while to get over the initial shock and anger of it," says Anna, who doesn't want her last name publicized.
It was bad enough that the burglar broke out her window and stole her son's brand new X-Box on Friday.
But when Anna rushed into her bedroom after the burglary she soon discovered the extent of her losses.
Missing were iPod Nanos which had pictures of her daughter when she was first born and of her husband that she hadn't been able to download - so they're gone, too.
Anna is still waiting to hear if her homeowner's insurance will cover the monetary losses. But the likely thousands of dollars in material losses mean nothing compared to the damage to her heart.
"The wedding ring set - mine and my husband's," says Anna. "That was the keepsake I had from my marriage. My husband died, and I don't have them any more."
Anna had just moved her family to the West Seattle home for a fresh start after her 38-year-old husband died suddenly last year from an undiagnosed heart problem.
"It's just another thing that we have to deal with," she says.
She believes the burglar chose her home randomly - walked right through her backyard gate to commit his crime. But he stole more than just stuff - the crook stole her kids' sense of security.
But thankfully, her memories are still locked away safe in her heart.
Says Anna: "The things they took represent so much goodness - and we still have the goodness, and they can't take that."
My daughter's house was broken into & she didn't care about the tv's and wii they took...that stuff will always be replaceable. What broke her heart was the little mahogany box she kept on her dresser since she was 16...guess the thieves thought it was a jewelry box and missed the little gold nameplate "Shadow". They took the ashes of her beloved dog.
there isn't enough money in the u.s.a. to deal with the drug problem and costs because of it. it's everywhere and the only way to stop it is execution.
Most bland headline quote ever.
@jowsuf I was really expecting an interview with the thief saying that he had stolen them but didn't have them anymore...
Over the years I have been attempting to detach myself emotionally from material belongings. Why you ask? I am convinced it is a lost cause to have really nice things because there are is no shortage of oxygen thieves willing to steal you blind and take everything from you. These people are morally bankrupt and could not care less about how destructive their actions are. They are busy feeding their own lusts for drugs or goods. The only hope we have is the oft times used phrase..."payback is a b*tch".
@jdoll88         kar·ma   [kahr-muh]  Use Karma in a sentence Â
- "Bad karma will sow bad futures."
Sounds like just another home invasion. How does KOMO determine which break-ins to write stories on? My house was robbed too, my most treasured personal possessions were taken. Nobody gave two sh*ts.Â
I had to myself put shutters in the windows of my house because of punk thug vandal kids attempting to break them with thrown rocks (I had cheaper screening shades in front of them before which did the job).Shutters will make a home less likely of a target from vandalism or burglary though it's not a perfect solution.The kids broke the windows of a home down the street from me.I do have surveillance videos of them and have identified where 2 of these kids live.
One good idea is to get your neighbors involved with removing all fist sized window breaking capable thrown rocks within your immediate neighborhood (try for at least within a city block).Some dopey homeowners use them unfortunately for landscaping which is a bad idea.
 This won't stop a determined vandal however removing the rocks removes the temptation and lessens the odds.
Good luck on recovering stolen goods, good ole SPD files it away as s*^t happens...
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@jhonjack8Â This is a scam
@dome200q @jhonjack8A very obvious scam.
Tricia Manning Smith, you identify the burglar as a "he" in your article. I'm curious as to how you know the gender or number of burglars since there is no mention of an arrest in your article. I would hope that there is information not included in this article rather than just presuming that the burglar is male. Â
@lakeview
Maybe because it gets old saying âhe or sheâ when burglary is predominantly, BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY, a male crimeâ¦â¦. Or is it more of a case of that you just like to argue even when there really isnât a reason to?
Yeah, lets turn the focus of the story on gender profiling the poor burgler and forget about the victim in this story.
@lakeview Just curious, what difference does it make?
There are three reasons I hate thieves:
1) As in this story, the stolen items themselves arenât important, but what they represent is.
2) While I was cruisenâ during my Navy career, that smaller than a telephone booth sized rack (bed) of mine was the ONLY privacy any of us had â a thief negates that feeling of sanctuary for our possessions of remembrance of our homes and past lives.
3) A thief is not stealing things, they are stealing the time invested in that thing; time to earn the money to buy it; time invested finding it. Time cannot be replaced.
@dome200q that is why whenever me or someone in my shop caught a thief they weren't reported, they "accidents on the ladders", everyone turned a blind eye to berthing justice.
@beetle73
For those that think B73 is just flapping his fingers - - - We caught a squadron-mate ripping off racks onboard the old Coral Maru and walked him to the MAA shack. The Chief there looked at him and said âhe doesnât look like a thief to meâ¦.âOnce after he âtrippedâ on the ladder, he looked like that there thief.
The bad side, after Captainâs Mast, he was flown off the ship because the Command was afraid heâd turn up missing, meaning thrown overboard. We were in the Indian Ocean and that carrier didnât have air conditioning that worked for a hill of beans â and he didnât have to suffer like the rest of us.
@MargeGunderson
Marge, that boat was soooo hot, if I had known the results of his Mast â I might have stolen something just to have gotten off that ship! And for that very reason, I doubt if anyone would have given him an easy, cool way outâ¦..
And no thanks are needed â it was a personal life choice.
@dome200q The "bad side" wasn't so much him flying off to more comfortable living conditions; it was that he didn't leave the ship on his own in the middle of the Indian Ocean.Â
Thank you for your service.
And again, I hear of another burglary. Does anyone realize that with all the mom/pop store that can buy your gold on the spot for cash is just prolificating the problem? Jewelry is taken and sold for absolutely nothing to fund a drug habit. The folks that run these places know it's stolen and they inturn sell it for a much higher dollar figure for melt down. Makes me sick these druggies get away with this time and time again. From house to house they go. Like with me, the physical memories attached to these items are gone. I feel this woman's pain. Lucky for me the Des Moines Police Department did fingerprint. Most police won't, they first ask you if you have insurance and then walk away. Pitiful...
@Beverly Walker Isn't the war on drugs having such a great effect?
@contraryjim What about the "demand" side? Seems like that is the story the legalization types never want to discuss seeing as most property crime is tied to people supporting drug habits. What are the real life reasons people want to put substances into their bodies and drive a market for drugs in the first place? How does legal or illegal matter if you will have people unstable enough to hold a job and are willing to steal for their drugs? The annual loss caused by crime as well as loss of productivity with the druggies is probably a number you don't even want to see. The drug culture itself is as much to blame as the specific failings in the "war on drugs."
@Beverly Walker Actually, I think they use CASH4GOLD and mail it in. Local police have no way of tracking it down that way.
@Ankle Biter Most drug users don't have a physical address but bounce around from home or shack. Using cash4gold means you need to have a residence or a P.O Box, which requires money, money that can be used for drugs instead. So I doubt they are doing that.Â
@PrairieDawn @Ankle Biter So they have a low life that does it for them that has an address and gets a cut. Local shops can be visited by law enforcement to easily. Pawn shops have long been the first place the vice squad hits up.