Thief Pried Wedding Ring Off Sleeping 93-Year-Old's Finger

A 19-year-old Pompano Beach man crept into a sleeping 93-year-old’s bedroom and slipped the wedding ring he’d worn for 70 years from his finger.

That was after he also took a television and power tools from the World War II veteran’s home, according to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.

The victim, Dan Thomas, bought the ring for his 1944 wedding and it stayed on his finger for 70 years until the Aug. 6 burglary, the Sun Sentinel reported.

“I got robbed,” Thomas, who served in the Army for four years, was quoted by CBS as saying. “How do you put it? A band given to you by your wife – it means a lot to me.”

Deputies say the person who took the ring also broke into Thomas’ house in July, and into the home of another nearby resident. During one of the burglaries, the man cut himself and left blood behind, which enabled deputies to identify him, Local 10 reported.

Thomas’ wife, Edith, died in 2007, and the ring served as a reminder to him of their 63 years together, he told the Sun Sentinel.

The ring was recovered from a pawn shop on Friday and returned to Thomas. Other items that once belonged to Edith, however, are gone forever, Thomas told the paper.

The DNA evidence led police to Eric Vanyo, 19. He was arrested Thursday on numerous charges, including burglary with assault or battery, grand theft, dealing in stolen property and providing false ownership information to a pawn shop, according to Broward County Jail records. He was being held without bond Saturday.

Photo Credit: Eric Vanyo/Broward County Jail