Stolen wedding ring still not back with late owner's family, suspect flees Oklahoma to avoid charges
OKLAHOMA CITY – Months after it was found, the priceless wedding ring stolen off of a dying woman's finger in a nursing home is still not back in the hands of the owner's family. That wait may finally come to an end soon, but the battle for justice still isn't over now that the suspect allegedly fled to California.
Since just after Thanksgiving last year, Trela Wishon has been desperately trying to find the ring stolen from her 78-year-old mother's finger while she was in a nursing home. Police identified the alleged thief as Shamira Williams, a woman tasked with caring for the dying woman.
" take advantage of a senior citizen that's on their deathbed, and lying there, and steal the rings off their fingers?" Wishon said.
The ring was later discovered at a metro pawn shop, but it still couldn't be returned. That's because in cases like this, a judge has to decide whether the ring should go back to the woman it belonged to or possibly to the pawn shop that paid money for it.
"The court system does not move very fast so you have to wait for everything to move through the channels," Wishon said.
But Wishon's dying mother couldn't hold on any longer. Wishon made a heart-wrenching, last minute decision, and slipped her own wedding ring, which closely resembled her mother's, onto her mother's hand, and telling her she had it back.
"She died knowing that her rings had been found," Wishon said, "And that, to me, was all that mattered."
The ring is being held as evidence in the case at Oklahoma police headquarters. Wishon said she expects to get it back Friday when a judge hears the case. She said she doesn't think the pawn shop will contest her ownership of it.
In the meantime, Wishon said what really makes her mad is the suspect's flight from the state. She's hoping anyone with information about Williams' whereabouts will alert the authorities.
"Unfortunately for her, I'm going to be checking out in California, I'm going to be hunting for her," Wishon said. "She's not seen the end of me yet."