Mom pleads for son’s stolen ashes to be returned

A Colorado Springs mother wants her deceased son’s ashes returned to her, after they were stolen Wednesday morning.

On Wednesday, Shannon Paolini was dropping off her son at childcare, when someone smashed her car window and took her purse. Inside her purse, she had a little, black leather pouch, containing a rosary and a charm bracelet with her son’s ashes.

“It just means everything to me. I mean, it’s the remains of my little boy,” Paolini said. “And the rosary was a gift that I was given when I came out of a coma.”

Paolini lost her son Gavin, in 2011. Her boyfriend at the time shot and killed the 2 year-old, before taking his own life. He also shot Paolini multiple times.

The bracelet and rosary had a lot of meaning for her.

“My little boy’s gone, and it was something that I used, something tangible to hold on to,” she said. “As far as the rosary, so many people prayed while I was in the hospital, and it was a gift that I was given, so I’ve always held on to that, anywhere I’ve gone.”

The Pandora-style bracelet is silver. It has a heart near the clasp containing Gavin’s ashes and a heart charm with blue footprints, and the words, “It’s a boy,” engraved.

“I don’t want the purse, I don’t want anything in the purse, I just want my bracelet and my rosary,” she said. “No questions asked.”

Anyone with information can submit anonymous tips through the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office mobile app or through Crime Stoppers at (719) 634-STOP (7867.)

The items can also be dropped off at any police or fire station, no questions asked.