Shock as mean thieves steal from grave

Lorraine Moore could not believe somebody would steal from her daughter's grave.

A Rotorua family has been left reeling after a priceless pounamu waka was stolen from a woman's grave.

Ray Watson went to visit his wife's grave on Sunday, when he discovered the original greenstone waka at the base of her headstone had disappeared.

TAKEN: The setting from which the pounamu waka was taken.

"I was so hurt when I saw what had happened. The people who have done this have no respect for the way we've chosen to celebrate Lisa's life.

"The waka was not only a one-off artistic piece, but it also had a lot of symbolic meaning showing the journey Lisa had been through in her life. All I want is for it to be returned, as it is irreplaceable," he said.

Lisa Watson was on a family holiday in Vietnam in 2008 when she began having headaches. She was taken to a French Vietnamese Hospital in Hanoi, where she had an MRI scan showing a lesion on the brain.

Mrs Watson was taken to Bangkok International Medical Centre but died on January 6, 2008. The official cause of death was septicaemia or blood poisoning.

Mr Watson said his son, who was 6 at the time of his mother's death, was devastated by the theft.

"He just couldn't believe someone would do that to his mummy's headstone."

Mrs Watson's mother Lorraine Moore said she could not understand why thieves would target the headstone.

"Her headstone has been here for a while and, until now, nobody has disturbed it.

The setting from which the pounamu waka was taken.

"As well as the actual pounamu waka being stolen, there were smaller pieces of loose greenstone which were also taken." Mrs Moore said the thieves must have had some kind of tool to detach the waka.

"I doubt it would have been an opportunistic theft, as they couldn't have detached the waka with their bare hands. They would have had some kind of lever to break it from its setting."

The waka was stolen from Kauae Cemetery on Ngongotaha Rd. Anyone who may be able to help is asked to contact Rotorua police on (07) 348 0099.