Heartless Thieves Steal Laptop from Grieving Mum Saying Farewell to Daughter
Detectives are appealing for help to find a stolen laptop taken during a burglary that happened while a mother was saying goodbye to her recently deceased daughter.
Burglars Smash In During Heartbreaking Goodbye
Between 10.45am and 1pm on Thursday, 23 November 2017, thieves forced entry into a home on Leybourne Avenue by smashing a door. The occupant, Natalie Elbrow, 47, discovered the break-in after returning from Poole’s Julia’s House, where she had been saying farewell to her 15-year-old daughter, Daisy.
Stolen Items Include Laptop, Xbox, Earrings, and Cash
The thieves made off with an Apple MacBook Air, a white Xbox One, daisy-shaped Pandora earrings, and a sum of cash. Both the laptop and earrings belonged to Daisy, who had just passed away days earlier after a fierce battle with a rare and aggressive cancer.
Daisy’s Tragic Fight and Priceless Laptop
Daisy died at Poole Hospital on 19 November, just five days after her 15th birthday, after battling renal cell carcinoma that spread through her kidney, spine, lungs, liver, and lymph nodes. The Bourne Academy pupil endured months of chemotherapy and hospital stays.
Natalie said: “Daisy was a real fighter. She fought that cancer to the very end and was so brave. She spent more time in hospital than out and that laptop meant everything to her. She was so weak that she was forced to spend most days in bed and it gave her a portal to the outside world. It had all her things on it and all her photos. It meant so much to Daisy and I desperately want it back.”
Funds for the laptop were raised through a raffle organised by the stroke unit at Poole Hospital, alongside a crowdfunding campaign for Daisy.
Police Plea: Return the Laptop, Do the Right Thing
Detective Sergeant Adam Woolman of Dorset Police condemned the crime: “This burglary was committed while Natalie was saying goodbye to her late daughter. I am sure everyone will be incensed by this crime and I urge anyone who knows who was responsible, or knows where Daisy’s laptop is, to please do the right thing and either come forward or hand it into a police station.”
If you have any information, contact Dorset Police at 123.
