Family in shock after rings disappear from dead woman's fingers

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

Police and hospital officials are investigating after two diamond rings disappeared from the hand of an 89-year-old woman who died in a Brockton medical center two weeks ago.

The family of Evelyn DeFlavis, whose engagement and wedding rings went missing after she died on Sept. 10, is shocked and outraged.

"It was unbelievable to all of us," said Marla Seelye, one of DeFlavis's daughters. "To know that someone out there could take a ring off a dead person."

Family members say the rings given to DeFlavis by her late husband, Frank, were on her hands when they sat with her for two hours just after she died that day. The next day, a mortician arriving to take custody of the body noticed that the rings were missing.

Monique Aleman, a spokeswoman for Caritas Good Samaritan Medical Center, said the hospital had launched an internal investigation and turned the results over to police. Police did not respond to a request for an interview.

"This is a very sensitive, sentimental issue, and we are working diligently to accommodate the family in any way that we can," Aleman said.

• Comment
• Permalink
• Email