NYC family says dying mom's wedding ring stolen in hospital
NEW YORK -- A dying woman had a treasured piece of jewelry stolen off her right hand at a Staten Island hospital, her family says.
CBS New York reported Sunday that 92-year-old Pauline Twohig had her wedding band removed as her condition faded while at Richmond University Medical Center on March 12. She was rushed to the hospital after suffering a possible stroke.
"We tried to get the wedding band off, but it was very tough to get off. We just decided to leave it," said Doug Twohig, the woman's son.
The wedding band was given to Pauline Twohig by her late husband Leo Twohig 60 years ago.
"I know it was very special to my mother. That it had to be special that she never took it off," Doug Twohig said.
The family says someone stole her ring in the middle of the night before she died.
"When they came back the ring was missing," the son told CBS New York. "I think it's pretty sad that somebody could actually do that to a person that's in her final hours."
The hospital says it is working with the NYPD about the missing ring, but the Twohig family said the medical center did not seem to take the ring's disappearance seriously. In the week since, the family says the hospital has not contacted them.
"She was a fighter and now I want to do this one last thing for her to get that ring back," Doug Twohig said.
The NYPD confirms it is investigating, and says the ring's removal happened while the patient was asleep or sedated.