‘Evil’: Signed jersey owned by child who died of cancer stolen

In an act Dayna Caruso calls “evil,” a signed jersey owned by a child who died from cancer was among several items taken in a break-in at the local organization Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer.

“Obviously, this individual has their own issues and their own struggles, and clearly they're struggling with something that's particularly hard,” said Caruso, executive director of the organization. “But, to steal from us, it's not OK. It's evil.”

Greater Sudbury Police say that officers were dispatched to an organization on Regent Street on Aug. 1 in relation to a break and enter.

Information provided was that overnight (between 6:30 p.m. and 5 a.m.) an individual or individuals broke into a unit where items were stored by the organization. They stole a number of valuable and sentimental items.

Police said that anyone with information on the break and enter is to contact them at 705-675-9171.

Caruso said the stolen items were taken from a storage unit at NOFCC’s Regent Street location. The culprit was not caught on camera, although since the theft, NOFCC has installed cameras, thanks to an alarm company whose staff heard about the situation.

Among the estimated $4,000 worth of items taken were a number of bottles of wine, including expensive ones. They were to be used for NOFCC’s Sept. 28 Gold Soirée fundraiser.

Most upsetting, though, was that the stolen items included a 2003-2004 team-signed Ottawa Senators jersey that was owned by 13-year-old Johnathan Hetu, who died from cancer in 2004. 

Although the jersey was extremely sentimental to the family, they chose to donate it to NOFCC so it could be used to raise funds for other families like theirs.

Caruso said Johnathan received the jersey from the team after having a special one-on-one experience with the Ottawa Senators.

Given it has been 20 years since he died and the jersey is now 20 years old, they were planning to auction it off at the Gold Soirée to tell Johnathan’s story and raise some funds. 

Caruso said the family had donated the jersey during the pandemic, but they were keeping it for use on a special occasion.

“It hurts,” she said. “It hurts really deep. It’s been an emotional couple of days.”

She said Johnathan’s mother was quick to console Caruso about the situation.

“Cindy's exact words to me were, ‘Dana, do not hold it in your heart, because I do not hold it in my heart,’” Caruso said. “She said, ‘You know you guys haven't done anything wrong. It's the person who stole it that did something wrong.’ And I told her ‘I know your son is watching over us, and hopefully he'll help bring that jersey back to us.’”

She said she doubts the thief is going to see her plea, but she’s asking that they return the stolen jersey in some way. “We would be forever grateful to have that jersey back,” Caruso said.

If you come across this jersey, please contact the NOFCC office immediately at 705-586-3229 or info@nofcc.ca. 

Heidi Ulrichsen is Sudbury.com’s assistant editor. She also covers education and the arts scene.