Devastated daughter whose beloved mum died of breast cancer begs for cruel thieves who stole her ASHES to return them so she can finally be laid to rest
- Grace Daley’s mother’s ashes were stolen, along with two boxes of family photos
- One box was found strewn along a nearby nature strip, but there was no urn
- Jane died during Covid-19 and the family were waiting to have a proper farewell
A woman whose mother died from breast cancer has pleaded with heartless thieves who stole her ashes and boxes of family photos from her car to return them.
Grace Daley’s red Mazda 3 was in the carpark attached to her apartment complex in Richmond, west Melbourne, between 7pm on Friday and midday on Saturday when thugs broke in.
They stole an urn containing the remains of her beloved mother Jane, who died in 2020 during Covid-19 lockdown, and two boxes of irreplaceable photographs.
Because of the city’s strict Covid restrictions at the time, the family had been waiting to give their beloved mother a proper send off.
Now the heartbroken 36-year-old said she feels like she ‘let mum down’ and begged the robbers to return the ashes so her family can give Jane a proper funeral.
Pictured: Grace Daley, whose mother’s ashes were stolen between Friday night and Saturday morning
‘I was quite inconsolable yesterday and emotionally drained, feeling like I’d let mum down,’ Ms Daley told 9 News on Sunday.
‘Then having to ring family and tell them, particularly my brother and my dad, that the ashes were gone and the photos of mum were gone from the car…that was particularly difficult.’
Soon after she discovered the urn was missing, Ms Daley found one of the boxes of photos strewn across a nearby nature strip – but there was no sign of the urn.
Ms Daley’s mother Jane (pictured) died from breast cancer during Covid-19 lockdown in Melbourne last year
The urn and two boxes of photos were taken from the back seat of Ms Daley’s red Mazda 3 (pictured)
The family were waiting until Covid-19 lockdowns were over to give Jane a proper memorial service and scatter her ashes as a final gesture.
Ms Daley said her mother loved mountains and wanted her ashes to be released along the picturesque Black Spur Drive, north-west of the city.
‘I really need those ashes back so I can do that for mum,’ she said.
Police released an image of a similar-looking urn (pictured right) in the hope that someone might recognise it. Pictured left: Ms Daley’s mother, Jane
When addressing the thieves who took Jane’s remains, she said it was a ‘really painful experience’ and urged them to think about the situation in the context of their own family.
Police released an image of a similar-looking urn in a statement on Saturday.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime stoppers on 1800 333 000.
