Grandmother's ashes stolen from Eustis home, woman says

Eustis police investigate burglary

EUSTIS, Fla. – Police made an arrest Friday night after a woman reported someone had burglarized her grandmother's former home, stealing precious pendants containing her ashes.

Lisa Polk told News 6 she is still in pain after losing her "Grams" in April.

She said her grief only got worse when she stopped by her grandmother's home earlier this week and saw someone had broken in.

"As soon as we entered the house we could see that it was vandalized," Polk said.

The burglars stole thousands of dollars worth of items, including a TV and tools, according to the Eustis police report.

"Stuff that we just don't care about," she said.

But Polk said they took something worth more than money: two pendant necklaces that contained her grandmother's ashes.

Friday night, News 6 was there when Eustis police found one of the pendants at her next-door neighbor's home after serving a search warrant.

Her grandmother's ashes had been dumped out.

"I'll never know where they went," she said. "It wasn't our choice to do it. If we wanted to spread her ashes we would've done it."

Polk said investigators told her they found more of her belongings in an office in Orlando where her grandmother's next-door neighbor worked.

Friday night, they delivered another box full of items that may have come from her grandmother's home. Inside, Polk said she found the other pendant and some of her grandmother's jewelry.

She said she's going to take it to a jeweler to see if her grandmother's ashes are still inside.

News 6 asked her if she had anything to say to her grandmother's neighbor, who was arrested Friday night.

"I don't forgive you. You had the opportunity to walk over and apologize and give her back, but you didn't. So, I don't forgive you," she said.

News 6 is trying to confirm the identity of the neighbor arrested.


About the Authors:

Erik Sandoval joined the News 6 team as a reporter in May 2013 and became an Investigator in 2020. During his time at News 6, Erik has covered several major stories, including the 2016 Presidential campaign. He was also one of the first reporters live on the air at the Pulse Nightclub shooting.

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