Hunt for man who 'stole funeral donations' for autistic boy, 4, farewelling his father
An alleged thief has been caught on camera lingering at a man's funeral before allegedly making off with donations for the deceased's autistic son.
Victoria Police are investigating the theft at an Avondale Heights church on January 12 and have released CCTV footage in a bid to locate the man seen loitering in the church's foyer.
Avondale Heights police say the man was seen hanging around the entrance of the church around 11.05am during the funeral.
The family were collecting donations to help care for the man's four-year-old son and had managed to raise a considerable sum.
The large amount stolen had been raised by family, friends and a fundraiser run by colleagues.
The alleged thief is believed to be targeting funerals in the area. Source: Victoria Police
The unknown and uninvited man is believed to have then stolen the money, which was in donation envelopes.
Police believe this is not the first time this man has targeted a funeral. Cash was stolen from a church donation box during a funeral service in Bundoora on November 15.
That theft occurred at the McLeans Road. The same male is alleged to have stolen the cash in the box about 3.45pm.
Police have been told the man entered the church with the funeral procession and took the donation box from the sign-in table.
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Investigators have suggested he may be a repeat stalker of funerals.
“A line of enquiry we are pursuing is that the offender is targeting funerals where there has been a request for donations in lieu of flowers in the funeral notice,” First Constable Belinda Petrovska said.
“There have been reports of a man fitting this description attending other funerals doing the same thing.
“It’s disgusting this man is targeting grieving people at their most vulnerable.”
The man is said to be of Caucasian appearance, aged in his 50s and around 175cm tall, with receding grey hair and tattoos around his left upper arm.
At the time of the offence he was wearing a dark-coloured polo shirt, blue jeans and black sneakers with white accents.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 00.
