Sister's anger over cruel message left by 'low life' after boy's memorial stolen
The sister of a boy killed in a car crash has lashed out at the “low life” who removed a cross from her brother’s West Australian roadside memorial and replaced it with a nasty message.
Family and friends had placed the cross at the intersection of Murdoch Drive and Mandurah Road at Mandurah, south of Perth, back in 1996 to remember Stephen who was 12 at the time he was fatally struck there.
Now almost 23 years later, the memorial has been stolen and replaced with a nasty message forbidding crosses from being left at the site, according to Stephen’s sister.
The thieves replaced it with the heartbreaking message written on plank of wood: ‘This is NOT a cemetary (sic) – no crosses.’
Justyn Louise said the theft had shattered her family, including her grandmother.
“Some low life has stolen Stephen’s cross,” she wrote in a Facebook on Tuesday, sharing pictures of the memorial before and after it was removed.
“We are so angry and upset that someone could do this to someone else’s family.”
In a statement to Yahoo News Australia, she said the family was “extremely saddened” over the theft.
“We have always tried to maintain a neat and tidy site. We only upgraded Stephen’s Cross to Metal about 18 months ago to ensure that it always looked well kept.
“This cross means so much to so many people, not only our family. To some it’s a reminder to slow down on the roads and to the ones that actually knew Steve or Stevo, it’s a reminder of how quickly life can change and that we should never take it for granted,” she added.
The devastated sister begged the community for any information about who may have been responsible for the “heartless act”, leading to Mandurah locals flooding her Facebook post with their support.
“This is so disgraceful, and disrespectful,” one woman wrote on Facebook.
“The family have lost someone and you get these idiots who think they have the right to do whatever. Shame on you.”
Another added: “New form of low life scum. Hope you catch them.”
“How disrespectful,” a third wrote.
Ms Louise thanked the community for their support and pleaded with the person responsible to return the cross it the memorial site.
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