The good and bad sides of crime
Resident, Jose da Silva, has addressed a letter to a burglar who broke into his home, thanking him for not hurting his elderly mother.
JOSE da Silva may be the victim of a robbery at his Umbilo home, but he is grateful that his elderly mother, who was home at the time, was not hurt.
According to Da Silva, the robbery occurred last Wednesday, 6 August. He said a very young, thin, tall man had kicked out the front window burglar guards and slid into his home, only to find his 93-year-old mother, Virginia, in the house alone.
“He confronted her coming out of the bathroom. When he saw her rings, chain and watch, he pointed at them and slowly removed them from her. Then he saw her gold ear rings and pointed to them and removed them,” he said.
He said the burglar still had time to go the main bedroom. “He rummaged and stole other rings and a watch belonging to my wife, as well as quite a bit of cash, and slid out through the bent burglar bars without any further action or molesting of my dear old mother,” he said.
Despite the incident, Da Silva said he penned a letter to the burglar to thank him for not hurting his mother and to offer to buy back the possessions he had stolen from her.
Dear Mr Burglar
I am rather annoyed and dissatisfied with your brave effort of entering my home in broad daylight through a cunning and daring forced entry into my premises.
That having been said, and you having robbed my mother of her very long standing jewellery and little that she possess, I wish to herein thank you most gratefully for not having molested my mother in any way due probably to her age and her awe at the goings on.
She is very dear to us all and if anything were to happen to her, it would have been a bigger loss that any worldly goods and totally irreplaceable. She was so nicely treated that in her surprise and innocence was actually feeling sorry for you that you are so skinny and need in need of nourishment.
Her possessions that you took have been with her for a long time (more than 70 years) and have great sentimental value and I for one would gladly pay you the price your buyers would give and more, just to see her reunited with these possessions. She was a little in shock about what happened and very confused as to why you wanted her rings.
Once again, if by any chance you see this letter in the newspaper – we are very, very, grateful for not hurting her and being soft with her.
Thank you Mr Burglar
Jose
