Virgin Mary statue vandalized in Conn. yard

(NECN: Brian Burnell, Windsor Locks, Conn.) -  Some might say its just a prank.  Others would call it vandalism.  Still, the woman who lives here says this is a hate crime.

"It just hurts me so bad I want to cry," said Darlene Fraga of Windsor Locks, Conn.

Several weeks ago Fraga came outside her home to find her statue of the Virgin Mary badly damaged.

"They took a sledgehammer or something and decapitated her and took her crown of roses and her rosary beads," Fraga said.

To add insult to injury, she says whoever did it came back a week later and put this garden gnome where the head used to be.  Police say there has been a string of vandalism in the neighborhood, but Fraga thinks this is more than that.  She calls this a hate crime.

Despite the pain, she has not taken the damaged statue down or removed the gnome. She's just not ready.

"I think after I get over the initial shock," Fraga said. "I'm going to take the whole thing down."

In the meantime, she hopes the vandal who did this has a guilty conscience.

"Whoever did it, God knows and you know," she said. "It's riding on your shoulder now."

Windsor Locks Police say they don't think this is a hate crime.  They believe its kids committing some vandalism.  At the moment, no leads, no suspects.