Crimefighter cape stolen from display
A teenage student and her hardworking dad are devastated at the theft of a superhero cape two school terms in the making.
Taryn Sangster’s Wonder Woman cape was stolen from a public display at Queensgate shopping mall in Lower Hutt during the just-ended school holidays.
The Year 11 student at Hutt Valley High School said her family spent a lot of money on materials for the outfit and she hand-painted the cape herself.
She and the school were disgusted, but hoped the cape would be returned soon.
‘‘I am very, very disappointed and they should stop stealing things because some people take a lot of time and effort to work on things,’’ Sangster said yesterday.
The display was clearly marked as being a Hutt Valley High School student project
‘‘There were signs down the bottom of the costume saying who made it.’’
She thought somebody might try donning the cape during Halloween, but hoped whoever had it would return it soon.
Hutt Valley High School fashion teacher Nan Walden said Sangster’s dad helped pay for the material.
‘‘He works his butt off to support his children. She’s an amazing student.’’
The star-spangled cape featured in an end of year cosplay assignment worth 12 credits – a crucial part of the year’s assessment.
‘‘She came with us and set up on the first week of the holidays. It was gone the second day it was set up,’’ Walden said.
The theft complicated Sangster’s grading situation, Walden added.
Without a physical costume to assess, the school would have to work out a system to decide on an ‘‘aggregate’’ mark for the student.
Sangster, 15, made up the pattern herself, Walden said. ’’It’s really lovely satin fabric, six metres of fabric all up.’’
The thief or thieves left the superhero’s leather bodice and a skirt behind.
Walden said whoever had the cape could take it to Hutt Valley High soon, with ‘‘no questions asked’’.