South Wales, England (The Weekly Vice) -- South Wales police have some 'splainin to do after sending a grieving widow the rope her husband used to hang himself with.
South Wales police have issued an apology, but for grieving widow, Angie Gerrelli, it may be too little, too late.
Angie Gerrelli, 52, and John Gilmore, 50, had been married for 21 years. When the couple became estranged 4 years ago, John moved to Barry in South Wales. It was there he decided to take his own life by hanging. He was found hanging from a tree one November afternoon by a dog walker in Porthkerry Park.
Naturally, Angie requested that police return to her his personal effects - after all, she was the next of kin and some of those possessions were hers. And indeed the South Wales police provided those possessions, bundled up into three bags.
When Angie began to go explore the bags, she was initially pleased to see that she had gotten her laptop back in one piece.....and then something else caught her eye. Something yellow.
It wasn't until she pulled the item out that she realized what was in her hand. The bloody tow rope her husband had used to end his life with.
"The next thing I pulled out was the rope. I saw yellow, then red and realized what it was," said Gerrelli. "I went to pieces, I just sunk to the floor. I dropped it and put my hands to my face."
South Wales called Gerrelli to apologize after a friend informed them of the discovery.
"He apologised profusely, he couldn't have been more apologetic," she said. But the public has been angered by the department's bungling of the case - and for good reason.
There was one encouraging item that came out of those bags. Although John had apparently moved on, dating a woman 27 years his junior, Angie discovered a photo in his wallet that she didn't realize he had kept. A photo of her and John, taken during their years as a couple (pictured above).
One more precious item has been returned to her as well. The couple's teen son, who had lived with John while the couple was apart, has now returned to live with his mum.
South Wales Chief Inspector has also apologized for the incident and has pledged to put steps in place to ensure the incident is never repeated.
Danny Vice
The Weekly Vice
http://www.theweeklyvice.com
Have a great news article to share? Please share it in our new forums!
Join the discussion. Click comments link below and fire away!
Posts
4 comments:
Interesting, to have your life summed up to three bags (including the rope you hung yourself with)... It sure makes you stop and appreciate today instead of always waiting until tomorrow.
I can see that happening eventually, somewhere. Crimes may effect victims profoundly, but to a cop, a suicide is just paperwork. Once the inquest is over, they are more than happy to move everything from the case out of the evidence locker.
however horrible, i can understand the mix up....lazy bureaucracy at worst.
wow, that's cold..
Post a Comment
****Please Read Before Posting****
The fastest way to post is to type your comment, click "NAME", enter any screen name you wish, and then click "PUBLISH".
Anonymous posts are discouraged, because it makes a conversation difficult to follow. No one can tell who's talking to who. Be somebody. Pick a name - any name. This way your fellow bloggers know who you are when you return to comment again. Thank you!