Please bring back the memories of our son; Couple appeal to raiders after stillborn baby's keepsakes taken

0 Comments | South Wales Echo (Cardiff, Wales), May 14, 2009

Byline: David James

A COUPLE have spoken of their devastation after burglars stole a memorial box they kept for their stillborn son.

Alan Williams, 28, and Michelle Watts, 25, are appealing for anyone finding the heart-shaped cream tin, which contained scans and copies of the stillborn boy's footprints and handprints, to come forward.

The pair's home in St David's Crescent, Ely, Cardiff, was broken into and ransacked by burglars on Sunday between 10am and 6pm.

The crooks emptied the house of almost everything, including clothes, the television, Sky box, hi-fi, perfumes, CDs and vacuum cleaner.

Even the food from the fridge and their cutlery were stolen.

Alan said their son McKenzie was stillborn at just six-and-a-half months on August 28 and was buried early in September.

He said: "Everything else is replaceable but we can't get back the memorial box. We're desperate to get it back. It has completely wiped us out.

My partner is completely devastated by it." Alan said the couple had been helping a friend decorate their house on Sunday when the burglars targeted the property.

Detective Inspector Chris Mullane, from Fairwater CID, said that the thieves had smashed a kitchen window at the ground-floor flat to gain entry.

And he has appealed to the public to help police recover the stolen box and catch the culprits.

"To take items that were clearly of such sentimental value has added to the suffering of the couple," he said.

"I would urge anyone who knows where any of these items are, or has any knowledge of this incident, to contact us." According to South Wales Police's crime mapping statistics, the level of burglaries in Ely is average for the force areas but has fallen significantly this year, down 41%.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the burglary squad at Fairwater on 029 2057 1591 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111..

CAPTION(S):

Alan Williams and Michelle Watts are desperate for the return of a box containing irreplaceable items they kept in memory of their stillborn son PICTURE: Richard Swingler [umlaut]