Jennifer Rucci: Woman heartbroken after box containing her baby daughter's ashes are stolen from car
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: In a devastating turn of events, a family is saddened by a car theft that has taken away from them what they value the most — a daughter’s ashes. The incident is said to have happened on Thursday, November 3, when a box containing the ashes of the little girl was stolen from the mother’s car, along with some of her other belongings.
Jennifer Rucci had plans to move into her new apartment and was temporarily staying at her sister’s place until her new place was ready for inhabiting. However, she had many moving boxes in her car that she was to take to her new place that were all stolen. While Jennifer Rucci is not so concerned about her material losses, she is utterly devastated about losing the box containing her daughter’s ashes.
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A report by CBS Minnesota has stated that Christine Rucci, on behalf of her sister Jennifer, is asking the public to be on the lookout for a box that has the child’s ashes. She has said that Jennifer’s car was left parked at the 2nd Avenue South, near the 3rd Avenue South in the Whittier neighborhood, right outside Christine’s apartment. Overnight, all the boxes were stolen after the car’s window was smashed open.
"They smashed the passenger side window over where I live on 2nd Avenue in the apartments over there and took all the boxes in the back," Christine said. "It's like we're missing a child or something, it's a weird thing. It's devastating, you know, it's just so painful, it really is," Christine said. "[My sister is] very sad … she feels horrible about this."
Apart from the stolen ashes, a printer, some shoes, and a drill were also stolen. A description of the box was given by Christine- she says the box is made of wood and is designed with ducks and bunnies. The box is engraved with the words ‘Sophie D. Brooks’ on the side- along with her birth and death date. The baby had passed away three weeks after her birth more than a decade ago in 2007.
"Jennifer's had her with her everywhere she goes, the whole time. She just wanted her to be buried with her, and it made sense to us. That's her only child. I just know whoever took her didn't try to, they didn't know," Christine said. "I'm just hoping they have a heart and will return her."