The grave of Robert Stringer, a boy killed by a car aged 11 back in 1980, had been habitually robbed of flowers for some time. Relatives of the boy wanted to find out how this was possible, and so they set up a motion-sensor camera to find the culprit.
Relatives expecting to see the grave being interfered with by young hooligans were shocked when the camera footage showed an elderly lady, seemingly paying her respects and then walking off with armfuls of flowers.
The grave at Rippleside Cemetery in Barking, Essex has been tended to by the family for the last 30 years. Family members started to notice that flower baskets and pots had been regularly removed from the plot, which prompted them to leave notices appealing to the thieves not to take them.
Robert’s cousin Stephen, now 37 said “We were surprised; everyone expected it to be kids. It’s an awful, callous crime and none of us can understand how she could do that to a child.”
“I’m devastated because we have cared for this grave for the last 30 years. I’m so angry. I want her to be named and shamed. She’s a horrible woman and evil.” said the boy’s aunt, Kathleen Harris, 75.
Robert Stringer’s parents, now deceased, were said to have never gotten over the death of their only child and returned to the grave to lay flowers once a week.
Officers are currently investigating a possible suspect. The family have been told the woman in question will most likely just be given an official police warning.
