Parents Ask Thief To Return Their Baby's Ashes

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

Unknowingly, a thief stole the ashes of their deceased baby from a family in Illinois. A heartbroken couple requests that a stolen urn containing the ashes of their son William Pax LaDeur be returned. The baby, who has a twin brother, died shortly after he was born in 2014. The home of his parents Jim and Sue LaDeur was burgled last Tuesday and they took the urn, a white box, which the thief perhaps mistaken for a jewelry box, WGN-TV reported.

"It measures three inches by three inches and is one inch tall," the mother told the channel. Police suspect that the thief entered the house through a window on the side of the property. They also stole valuable collectible coins. The urn with the ashes was next to a photo of the deceased baby. "It has no value for anyone else but it is invaluable to us," added the mother, requesting that he be returned. "Please do the right thing."

The twins were born premature, about nine weeks ahead of schedule, and the newborn died soon after in hospital after suffering from fluid retention while in the womb, The Chicago Tribune reported.

"We held him until he died," recalled the mother. "We fight for him then and we will fight for him now and we will do everything we can," she said of recovering her son's remains. The white box also had a label with the name of the crematorium. "A baby should not be separated from its parents," the mother told the Chicago Tribune. Authorities request that anyone with information about this case call (630) 530-3050.