A Waikato woman “burst into tears” after discovering crystals which held enormous sentimental value and were lovingly glued to her mother’s headstone had been prised off in a graveyard robbery.

Melissa Takao-Brandt, 46, said she had fixed about $300 worth of crystals to her mother’s grave in Aramoho Cemetery in Whanganui.

These included an amethyst heart, a sandstone bull, a large moss agate wand and a labradite cube – all of which were now missing.

Also gone was a red quartz teddy bear, which represented toy bears given to her and her sister by their mother when they were young.

Takao-Brandt said her mother died at age 30 after a “long, hard battle” with cancer.

She remembered her being a “fun, vibrant woman” who had an eye for beautiful things and loved her daughters deeply.

Melissa Takao-Brandt's mother's grave after she first stuck $300 worth of crystals on it. A teddy bear made of red quartz is visible near the base of the headstone.

In 2024, Takao-Brandt moved down from Waikato to spend a few months living in Whanganui to take care of her aunty, who had also been diagnosed with cancer.

While there, she visited her mother’s grave every day and eventually had the idea to glue crystals there.

Takao-Brandt recently saw posts on Whanganui community Facebook groups that mentioned headstones being broken and objects going missing from graves.

She said she had an “awful feeling” so she asked a friend to go check on her mother’s grave on Wednesday.

Melissa Takao-Brandt with her mother, Fiona Deidre Griffin, before she passed away from cancer at the age of 30.

“She sent me the photos and my heart just dropped.

“I just burst into tears because there’s only like two or three crystals left.”

She told the Herald she had used nailbond glue, a strong construction adhesive, to stick them to the headstone.

“You would have had to use force to get those off.”

Takao-Brandt ran Blessed by Nature NZ, a small business which sold crystals and other products.

She believed the crystals from her mother’s grave would have sustained damage while being pried off and did not think they could be resold for much money.

A picture Melissa Takao-Brandt's friend sent her on Wednesday, which showed only a few crystals remained on the headstone.

Takao-Brandt posted about the incident on social media to remind people to go check on the graves of their family and friends.

“People may see ‘just crystals’ but to me, they were placed there with love, grief, memories and intention.”

The Aramoho Cemetery is Whanganui District Council’s main site for cremations and burials.

The Herald has contacted the council for comment.

Janhavi Gosavi is a Wellington-based journalist for the New Zealand Herald who covers news in the capital.