By Laura Michell
A break-in at Paula Chavez’s Weir Views home earlier this month has impacted her business and left her without precious items gifted to her by deceased brother and parents.
The Weir Views resident was out with her dogs on Thursday, October 3, when unknown offenders broke into her home via a sliding door.
Once inside, they took two safes containing gemstones and many sentimental pieces, including presents from her brother who was murdered in Los Angeles 45 years ago at the age of 19.
Among the precious pieces that were stolen were “irreplaceable” letters and photos of her brother, items he made in schools, a pair of pearl earrings he gave her, family heirlooms, and gifts from her parents.
Thankfully a beautiful amber necklace that had belonged to her mother was overlooked by the thieves.
The safes also contained a collection of gemstones collected by Ms Chavez over a number of years for her work as a jewellery maker.
They also took $15,000 worth of gold as well as sapphires she had recently purchased to create jewellery with, and a collection of jewellery she had been working on to sell ahead of Christmas.
“They took all the jewellery they could find. I was getting ready to put up stuff [on my website] for Christmas. They were my new lines I was feverishly working on,” Ms Chavez said.
“I’d made a beautiful chain that cost $2500 in gold and so many hours, but that was stolen.
“This was my business. This was my everything. This was my identity.
“I don’t know how I’d feel about making jewellery if I never see my stolen collections again.”
Ms Chavez said prior to the break-in, she believed she had taken all the necessary steps to secure her home, including ensuring she doesn’t leave her windows unlocked.
But now, she is annoyed with herself for not securing the sliding door and can’t shake the feeling that she left herself open to becoming a victim of crime.
“I never thought in a million years that someone would pick [the safes up] and walk away with them,” she said.
“They are fire safes, so I put the stuff in their to keep them safe in case of a fire.
“I should have been more careful.
“I feel so stupid for not being more careful.”
Since the break-in, Ms Chavez has dedicated her time to searching Facebook marketplace sites in the hope of finding her belongings.
She has also alerted pawn shops, taking in pictures of the stolen items.
Ms Chavez said some of the items are so unique and “weird” that it will be difficult for the thieves to offload them.
“I have really weird gems, none of them individually are very valuable. They wouldn’t even know what it is,” she said.
Ms Chavez, who moved to Weir Views nine months ago from the New South Wales Central Coast, hopes her experience will alert her neighbours to the incident and encourage others to secure their homes.
“Up until now, I have been quite happy living here,” she said.
Police are continuing to investigate the theft.
