Stolen Necklace Had Dad's Ashes: Woman's Plea For A Return

FRAMINGHAM, MA—It's bad enough to endure the aggravation and personal violation of having your car broken into, but when the burglars steal something irreplaceable, it can be devastating.

Brittany Tognacci's car was parked last Friday at the Stop & Shop in Framingham. When she returned, she found the driver's side window smashed, something that apparently happened between 6:45 and 7:20 p.m. that evening.

Her gray purse was stolen but, more importantly, a heart necklace that contained her father's ashes was ripped from the rear-view mirror.

Tognacci's dad Terry Smyth passed away on July 1, 2010, from a rare throat cancer he had battled since 1998, when he was originally diagnosed and given less than six months to live.

"He beat the odds and lived for another 12 years," Tognacci told Patch. "His health was never fully recovered between complications from the radiation treatment for the cancer but he never liked his daughters to see him suffer or in pain. On Father's Day 2010 he suffered from a stroke and passed away a few weeks later."

Tognacci is originally from a Smyth from Connecticut, and now lives in Hopkinton, but she married into the Tognacci family, many of whom live in Framingham.

"It has no monetary value but means the world to me," Tognacci wrote on her Facebook page about the stolen necklace. "I'm hoping to get this post out there in hopes someone might have seen something or more importantly someone comes across anything."

Tognacci said that the necklace has hung from her rear view mirror since 2010, kept there as a daily reminder that even though her dad is gone, he is "always with me."

"The necklace gave me comfort when I was having a bad day or just when I needed to find inner strength, I'd reach up and squeeze the heart knowing that my dad was there," Tognacci said. "I hope [the thief] can find a small place in his or her heart to do the right thing. This necklace heart is irreplaceable to me. It holds no value to anyone except myself. Please just turn it into the Framingham, PD, no questions asked."

Tognacci stresses that she prefers to have any tips called in to the Framingham Police Department since her Craigslist post has already attracted some apparent prank calls.

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