The ashes of a murdered woman have been burgled from her family's home in Essex.
A ceramic pot containing the ashes of Claire Parrish was taken from her sister's home in Harlow on Friday.
Parrish, 37, was killed in Harlow on 16 July. Ebony Parrish, 29, said the family had "suffered enough" as she made a plea for her sister's ashes to be returned.
"The whole family is sickened that someone should rob us of the remains of a loved one who died in such appalling circumstances.
"I was absolutely horrified when I saw that the pot was missing. It was a terrible shock when I realised that someone had broken in.
"Only two things were taken – a television and the pot containing the ashes. Why, why, why did the thief have to take the pot? Surely he must have realised that it was something very special because there was a memorial card and photos of Claire beside it.
"She has been taken once from us and now she has been taken again."
The pot, which had a red and white floral pattern on it, was stolen some time after 2pm on Friday, Essex police said.
Ebony Parrish added: "My mum and dad, my two sisters, my brother and me have suffered enough since the tragic death of Claire and we are making a heartfelt plea to the thief to return her ashes as soon as possible."
Det Chief Inspector Stuart Hooper said: "This is a despicable crime and we are working closely with the family and doing everything we can to get the ashes back as quickly as possible.
"If anyone has any information about the burglary, or attempts to sell the pot in suspicious circumstances, they should contact the investigation team immediately."
A postmortem examination revealed the cause of Parrish's death was blunt force trauma which caused internal bleeding.
Mark Golds, 45, has been charged with her murder and will stand trial at Chelmsford crown court on 18 February.
Anyone with information about the burglary or the whereabouts of the pot and ashes should contact Detective Sergeant Patrick Mullan at Harlow CID or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.