HOUSTON, Tex. (WTVR) - Parents of a recently deceased 25-year-old Australian man believe their son's remains have been stolen - but they don't think the thief has any idea what they've done. That's because the family had their son's ashes turned into diamonds.
Kyle Thomas died after getting hurt playing Australian football. His family paid for two, one-of-a-kind diamonds, shipped from a Houston, Texas based company.
Problem is, the family says the diamonds never arrived. Instead, they received an empty box in the mail. The family says they don't know how or when they were taken, but they're devastated.
"I thought this is not real. This is a bad dream," said Steve Thomas, Kyle's father. "I'd like to see the people responsible be brought to justice."
Algordonza makes and ships these special diamonds all over the world.
They make the specialty gems by taking human-based carbon and turning it into graphite. The graphite is then combined with a starter diamond, and placed under intense pressure until a new diamond is formed.
The company believes the diamonds were inside the packaging when they were shipped.
"They were packed here. We did pack them, shipped them, sent them to Australia, hoping the diamonds would make it to the mother of the deceased son," said Vincent Campise, an Algordanza employee.
Australian police and UPS are investigating the incident. The company has already started making replacement diamonds for the Thomas family out of their son's remaining ashes.
