Jewellery worth $35,000 is missing from the home of Adelaide woman Ann Marie Smith, detectives investigating her death said.
Smith, who had cerebral palsy, died on April 6 from septic shock, multiple organ failure, severe pressure sores and malnourishment that developed while receiving full-time care. SA Police believe the 54-year-old might have spent most of the year leading up to her death sitting in a cane chair.
Investigators have launched a public plea for information after it was revealed jewellery $35,000 worth of jewellery and two fridges were missing from Smith’s Kensington Park house.
Detective Superintendent Des Bray said the jewellery included six golden hair clips and five bracelets which Smith had custom-made.
“You may have seen your neighbour wearing them, they may have been sold online, they may have been sold at a pawn shop — we don’t know what’s happened to them — but they’re extremely distinctive hair clips,” Bray said.
“They’re quite large and we’d encourage anyone who knows what’s happened to them … to contact us.”
Bray said “some jewellery” that was given to Smith following her mother’s death in 2009 is also missing, along with Smith’s medical records since 2015.
“We are making an appeal to any doctors, nurses, dentists or physiotherapists who may have provided care to her since 2010 to contact Crime Stoppers,” Bray said.
Smith’s 69-year-old carer, who had been fired by provider Integrity Care SA, has been named as the major person of interest in the manslaughter inquiry.
After investigation into Smith’s death was made public, a state government taskforce was established to examine potential failings in the disability care system.
The Safeguarding Task Force handed the SA Government an interim report on Tuesday, raising areas of concern such as the lack of requirement for carers to have regular supervision.
This article originally appeared on Over60.