Thieves steal Xmas tree from crime scene

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Thieves stole a Christmas tree and Christmas presents from the bloody apartment of a Florida woman killed in front of her two young children, police said.

"There was blood all over the floor -- you've got to know something horrific happened here -- and then to take a Christmas tree after all this?" said Bridget Dwarka, a cousin of Laronda Becker, who police say was killed by ex-boyfriend Reginald Johnson.

Police said Johnson, 22, killed Becker, 21, in front of her two children, Reggie, 3, and Ariel, 2, in a two-bedroom apartment near West Palm Beach, Fla.

Johnson then shot himself, but is expected to survive, the Sheriff's Office said.

Dwarka told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale she covered the bloodstained carpets in the living room and back bedroom, then returned to get the children's Christmas presents.

But they were gone, along with the Christmas tree, the family's television and a computer containing family pictures.

The most valuable item the thieves took was a little tag on one present that said "To Reggie, To Ariel, From Mommy," Dwarka said.

She said her cousin had moved to Palm Beach County from the Gainesville, Fla., area to be with family.

"We thought we could protect her," Dwarka said. "I said it to her, 'We can all protect you.' But we couldn't protect her."