LAUDERHILL, FLA. (WSVN) - A burglar broke into a school officer’s Lauderhill home, taking several items, including a box with her father’s ashes inside.
Gina Goullette said she was incredibly close with her father, Stephen Goullette. “I was daddy’s little girl,” Goullette said, “talked to him every day over the phone. He was my biggest fan.”
However, Stephen died in August from a heart attack, and after his death, Gina kept her father’s ashes in her Lauderhill home.
Now, the grieving daughter is left heartbroken after her father’s ashes, in addition to other items, were stolen from her home on Oct. 26, between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m.
Surveillance video captured two people of interest who were seen near the house, in the area of 4500 block of Northwest 70th Avenue, around the time the crime happened. A silver or gray vehicle, possibly a Pontiac, was captured on surveillance. Police said the car was seen pulling out of the driveway of the house.
The suspects allegedly entered Gina’s house by breaking into a rear sliding door and got away with jewelry, electronics, an off-duty gun, in addition to her father’s ashes and a locket with his picture inside.
“I had a shoebox full of personal pictures, and for some reason, they took that too,” she said.
The theft of her father’s ashes is what hurts Gina the most. “It allowed me to wake up in the morning and say, ‘Good morning, Dad.’ I know it sounds funny, but those ashes, it was like I always had my dad with me,” she said. “I can get all my materials back. I can go to the store and buy a watch. I cannot go to a store and purchase my dad’s ashes. Just, if there’s somewhat of some type of heart in you, please just give me my dad back to me. That’s all I have left.”
If you have any information on this burglary, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $3,000 reward.
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