Southern California

Husband Heartbroken After Thieves Steal Photos of Late Wife

Family of Rosa Petty remember her as a very shy person on camera.

"She didn't ever want her picture taken," said Rosa's daughter, Denise Koch.

But in the last year of her life, she let her family take pictures of her.

"She knew those were moments we would want to carry with us," Denise said.

Rosa died of cancer in December 2015. Her husband, Stephen Petty, was devastated and held onto those 12 months worth of photographs and memories to help him with his grief.

Stephen flew down Friday from Redmond, Washington, where he and Rosa had moved to from Southern California a few years ago.

While he was inside a Wells Fargo in Santa Ana to close the sale of their longtime Azusa home, someone broke into the trunk of his rental car and stole his computer and two cell phones -- both of which contained the photos of his wife.

"Those were the precious moments we had," Stephen said. "And now they're gone."

His son, Carl Bryant, understands what those photos mean to his father.

"He uses those to cope every day," Carl said.

"(Rosa) told me before she died, she wanted to be married to me forever," Stephen said. "That was the nicest think she ever said to me."

The bank, located on the 3900 block of South Bristol Street in Santa Ana, does not have outside security cameras.

The theft occurred around 1 p.m. Friday and there were no witnesses, according to the Santa Ana Police Department.

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