Colorado Springs Mother Has Purse Containing Son's Ashes Stolen
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4) - A mother in Colorado Springs is making a desperate plea to find her stolen purse because her son's ashes were inside.
Two-year-old Gavin was the victim of a murder-suicide four years ago. His mother, Shannon Paolini, survived after being shot six times by her then-boyfriend. Someone stole the purse from her car in the Garden of the Gods area.
It happened when Paolini ran inside for a minute to drop her child off at a day care.
There's a Pandora-style bracelet inside the purse with a silver heart charm, and that holds some of her son's ashes.
"Inside the purse, I had a little black leather bag, and it had a rosary I was given in 2011 when I was shot. In that same bag was a bracelet that had some of my son's remains … I've carried that bag everywhere I've gone since I got the ashes back," Paolini said. "You can keep my purse. You can keep the wallet. You can keep any makeup that's in that bag. I just want my rosary and my son's ashes back on that bracelet."
Paolini says the purse can be dropped off at any police or fire department, no questions asked.
"It's been a nightmare. And you try to remain optimistic and be thankful that your life was spared and that you can move forward and find healthy ways to carry a deceased child with you," she said.
