Thieves' ruse compounds mother's grief

She was trying to give directions when a scammer stole her necklace, which carried her daughter's ashes

- By Salvador Hernandez

VERONIKA GARCIA, a retired deputy, died in a car crash. Her mother is begging for the cross's return.

(KTLA-TV)

A 75-year-old woman in East Los Angeles thought she was helping out a stranger.

Instead, her family says, thieves drove off with a gold necklace that was priceless to her because it carried the ashes of her late daughter.

“She was crying hysterically, saying, ‘They stole my chain, they stole my chain!’” said Jesse Guerrero, 57, the woman’s son.

The incident occurred on Dec. 15 after Esther Guerrero and her husband returned to their home in the 300 block of Gerhart Avenue after a shopping trip to downtown L.A.

Guerrero had just stopped to let her husband out and was making her way to the back of her Ford Explorer to grab her bags when she noticed a white car drive past and then reverse back toward her SUV.

Jesse Guerrero said the people in the white car called his mother over and said, “My mom's really sick, do you know if there’s a pharmacy nearby?”