A grieving family has suffered another cruel blow after despicable thieves broke into their home in broad daylight and stole a box containing the ashes of a loved one.
Gail and Bill McGuire’s Pakenham home in Melbourne’s south-east had been robbed and ransacked while they were out on Friday.
While the stolen jewellery, cash and suitcases can all be easily replaced, a clearly marked box containing their beloved son Ashleigh’s ashes cannot.
Father-of-two Ashleigh, 44, had become a grandfather not long before he died several years ago during the pandemic.
CCTV captured a man and a woman carrying a red and black sports bag walking along a footpath before entering the home via the rear terrace.
Gail and Bill McGuire had their son Ashleigh’s ashes stolen from their home on Friday. Also pictured is Ashleigh’s daughter Kyla (left)
The family are hoping someone can identify the intruders caught on CCTV
The pair spent 30 minutes inside and were caught walking back down the driveway with two suitcases in tow.
Ashleigh’s heartbroken parents and daughter Kyla have issued a plea for the ashes to be returned without question.
“To steal somebody’s ashes, you just can’t get that low, well they’ve gone that low,” McGuire said Sunrise on Friday.
The family said it would have been obvious to the thieves what was inside the box, which sat on a memorial stand on a mantelpiece.
“Clearly it had a picture of our son behind it and it’s clearly marked on the box what’s in it,” Mr McGuire said.
Father-of-two Ashleigh McGuire (pictured) died several years ago
The pair broke into the McGuires’ Pakenham home via the back patio
The break-in was so brazen that Ashleigh’s elderly parents were initially unaware they had been burgled
‘They took their time inside the house. It’s not even like it was a mad rush, Kyla said.
My grandparents didn’t even realize they had been robbed because it was done so nicely due to the amount of time they spent in the home.
Ms McGuire feels her son has died for the second time.
‘It’s a part of us that’s in there and I feel like a part of me is gone again and even more so now because, where is he?’ she told Seven News this week
‘Have they thrown him away?
‘I just get angrier every day. I didn’t even want to get out of bed this morning or any other morning.’
The robbery was reported to the police, who dusted the house for fingerprints.
The man had a Southern Cross tattoo on his left ankle, while the woman has the front part of her hair dyed a light color.
The female intruder left the home with two stolen suitcases (pictured)
