Last photos of shooting victim stolen

2012-10-04 18:47

Denver - The grandfather of a 6-year-old girl killed in July's cinema massacre in Colorado implored thieves who stole a camera with the last photographs taken of her to return it to the grieving family.

Robert Sullivan said the theft of the camera with the pictures of Veronica Moser-Sullivan, the youngest victim of the 20 July mass shootings at a suburban Denver cinema, had compounded the family's sorrow.

"It's been a never-ending nightmare," Sullivan said on Wednesday. "The pictures of Veronica wouldn't be valuable to anyone else, so we're hoping they'll be returned promptly."

The little girl was at a midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, Colorado with her mother, Ashley Moser, when a gunman started shooting at the audience, killing her, 11 others and wounding 58.

Ashley Moser, 25, was paralysed from the waist down by gunshot wounds to her abdomen and neck. She also suffered a miscarriage as a result of the shooting.

Former University of Colorado neuroscience graduate student James Holmes is accused of carrying out the massacre.

Burgled

Sullivan said burglars broke into his west Denver home on Tuesday stealing money, jewellery and cameras, including one with a memory card with photographs of his slain granddaughter.

The card holds several dozen images of Veronica at school and at a playground on the day she graduated from kindergarten in May, he said.

Denver Police Lieutenant Matthew Murray said detectives were combing the Sullivan home for evidence.

"We have not made an arrest, and right now are at the beginning of the investigation," Murray said. "It's a really tough deal for the family."

Sullivan said he was planning to use the pictures as part of a tribute for Veronica's memorial service, which will be held once her mother has recovered sufficiently to attend.

- Reuters