It’s been nearly a year since 20-year-old Melinda Green was killed in a freak accident at a central Edmonton Jeep show. Now, her parents are dealing with another tragic blow.
Between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Mira and John Green’s home in Edmonton’s Caernarvon neighbourhood was broken into.
The thief made away with over $10,000 worth of electronics, cash, and jewelry.
But, the Greens say all they want back are the items stolen from their late daughter’s room, including a ring she bought while in Europe and a memory card holding pictures from her funeral.
“These are all things Melinda loved. Things we gave her. Things she gave us,” Mira Green said. “It’s just the memories attached to those.
“The rest of it, it’s just stuff. We’d left her room exactly how she’d left it, but it’s not like that any more.”
“This is not stuff that just an insurance company can replace for us,” John Green said. “This is some of the things we were going to remember our daughter, by looking at, by visiting for years to come. And we won’t have that opportunity if we don’t get this stuff back.”
The thief went through all of the rooms in the house, opening cupboards and taking valuables.
But because of the way Melinda’s room was set up, her possessions were easy to take away.
“In my daughter’s room, quite a bit of stuff was just on shelves. She liked to lay things out and keep things in a certain way,” John said.
The ring is white gold, with a tear-drop shaped purple pearl and a diamond on the side.
“She liked things that were unusual. Odd shapes. Odd sizes. Like the fact that it was a purple pearl rather than a white one,” said Mira, who has worn her daughter’s favourite bracelet since she died.
“The ring is important to me because Melinda loved it so much. She wore it all the time. I just want that piece of my daughter back.”
The suspect was caught on a neighbour’s home surveillance video heading north from the home at 150th Avenue and 122nd Street, just after noon.
Police said he may have also been riding a bike at a nearby strip mall just before the break and enter.
The bike had no shocks, an odometer or pedometer on the handlebars, and a water bottle in the carrier.
Edmonton Police say the suspect is alleged to have been in the neighbourhood the day before, posing as an electrical salesman.
“He was wearing a quite bright orange jacket, with a name tag identifying himself as an Enmax Energy salesman, a company we confirmed doesn’t do door-to-door sales,” said Const. James Pearcey.
“We had a couple of other reports of this gentleman going door-to-door, attempting to get people to bundle their energy with them,” Pearcy said. “This residence was one of the residences he targeted on Monday.”
The suspect is described as a 60-year-old white man of average height, with a slim build and short to medium length grey hair.
On the day of the break and enter, he was wearing blue coveralls with a sweater underneath.
READ MORE:Police asking public for help in identifying suspect in home B&E
Melinda Green died on May 18, 2013, after she was struck by a Jeep that lost control at an event in Oliver Square.
The accident happened in front of hundreds of spectators.
The jeep was balancing on the wheels of another jeep, and when it went to dismount it lurched forward and pinned the 20-year-old woman.
READ MORE: Woman dies after jeep stunt goes wrong in Oliver Square
There were attempts to revive her on scene, but she was pronounced dead when she arrived at the hospital.
At the time, organizers of the event said the maneuver was not a stunt and a routine part of the event.
Melinda was studying to be an architect at MacEwan University, and was engaged to be married.
The Greens hope the thief will hear their plea and have a change of heart.
“We’re just coming up on a year now of losing our daughter,” said John. “So to go through and have to deal with something like this, it’s just damage and hurt and agony that no one can imagine.
“So just put it in a bag and drop it in the mailbox or whatever. We don’t care how we get it back, we just want everything we can get back that was in that room.”
Anyone with information on this break and enter is asked to contact police, or submit information anonymously through Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
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