Money For Man’s Heart Transplant Stolen

Jerry Lee and Kathy Peterson said they and their neighbor weren’t home late Tuesday morning when someone broke into the couple’s LaSalle Street home through a back door in Colorado Springs.

Jerry Lee Peterson, 61, is on the waiting list for a heart transplant and said he rarely leaves the house. He did so that day only because his wife was at work and forgot to bring her lunch.

“When I walked by my bedroom, I saw some stuff on the bed that shouldn’t have been there,” said Jerry Lee Peterson. “Why did someone invade our privacy?”

Jerry Lee Peterson said the thief broke open a lock box and stole several thousand dollars that he and his wife had saved for three years for his transplant. He declined to reveal the exact amount.

“Sure, I was mad at first,” Jerry Lee Peterson said. “But, you’ve got to get over it.”

Jerry Lee Peterson said he didn’t have the cash in a bank because he wanted to keep it handy for paying medical bills and to buy a more dependable vehicle. He said only he and his wife knew the money was there.

“I think (the thief) had been watching. It’s very unsettling,” said Jerry Lee Peterson.

Peterson said police are investigating that burglary and a second that happened earlier in the same neighborhood. A camera and an iPod also were stolen from the Petersons’ home, he said.

The Petersons said they’ll start saving all over again, and may set up a fund to help them pay medical expenses. KRDO NewsChannel 13 will post that information when it becomes available.