An Indiana cemetery worker is facing criminal charges after allegedly exhuming a buried urn to steal a gold ring.
Cemetery worker digs up grave
Seth Davidson, 24, was discovered by officers at Oaklawn Memorial Gardens in Indianapolis with dirt covering his entire body.
According to a statement from the Fishers Police Department, Davidson had unearthed a grave site to access the ring, which he intended to pawn.
The incident began when a Fishers police officer came across a suspicious vehicle parked near the cemetery and went in to investigate.
While checking the vehicle, the officer noticed a shotgun and paraphernalia inside, both visible without opening the car. Moments later, Davidson emerged from a wooded area close by.
“While the officer was investigating the vehicle, Seth Davidson emerged … covered in dirt from head to toe and confirmed he owned the vehicle,” the department stated.
Davidson, who works at the cemetery, allegedly admitted to burying the urn recently.
Cemetery worker was obsessed with buried ring
According to investigators, he told them he had been consumed by thoughts of the gold ring buried inside.
“He confessed that he couldn’t stop thinking about the ring, prompting him to dig it up to pawn it,” police noted. “Upon noticing the officers approaching his vehicle, Davidson hid the ring behind a dumpster.”
Officers said Davidson led them to both the ring and the grave he had disturbed.
Police found evidence of recent digging at the site, described as “fresh dirt indicating recent disturbance.”
Cemetery officials confirmed that Davidson was employed by Oaklawn Memorial Gardens and that only one grave had been interfered with during the incident. The family associated with that grave has since been notified.
Davidson now faces multiple charges, including theft, criminal trespass, and criminal mischief.
Grieving family finds stranger in dead uncle’s casket
In an unrelated case out of California, a family has filed a lawsuit against a Compton funeral home, alleging that their loved one’s remains were mishandled.
Amentha Hunt, the niece of the deceased man, said that when she went to view her 80-year-old uncle’s body at Harrison-Ross Mortuary, someone else’s remains were lying in his and wearing her uncle’s clothes.
“It was a guy laying there in my uncle’s suit, but it wasn’t my uncle,” Hunt told KCAL News. “I just kept looking at him. I am like, ‘He couldn’t have gotten that dark.’”
Hunt said she alerted a staff member at the mortuary about the apparent mistake, but her concerns were initially brushed off.
When she showed a photo of her uncle, the staff allegedly began taking the matter more seriously.
According to Hunt, the family had to wait for three hours while the mortuary worked to resolve the issue. Eventually, they were able to proceed with burying her uncle.
Hunt noted that she still does not know the identity of the person whose body they first encountered.
“It’s hurting,” Hunt said. “To view the wrong corpse, I still can see that guy.”
The family’s attorney, Elvis Tran, questioned the mortuary’s practices and called for better standards.
“For them to come in and see the wrong corpse, and for the mortuary to deny it’s the wrong corpse, we think it’s really just a basic standard of care that they messed up on,” Tran said.
“They really need to improve their ways so they don’t do this to another family.”
In response, the funeral home denied the allegations and announced plans to issue a cease-and-desist letter against Hunt.
Cops find corpses in storage unit
In Mississippi, a former funeral home owner is facing accusations of improper handling of human remains after three bodies were found in a storage unit that he allegedly used as a makeshift facility for burials.
Albert “Al” Creath, 31, was taken into custody following the discovery of the remains at a storage site in Greenville, according to officials with the Washington County Sheriff’s Department.
Creath was charged with two counts of improper desecration of a corpse.
Authorities believe Creath, who previously operated Creath Memorial Services in Greenville, continued offering funeral services despite losing his license.
He had even posted content online referring to the storage unit as his “casket warehouse” on TikTok, reports state.
“This is an isolated incident from somebody just not doing what they were initially assigned to do with these corpses,” said Chief Deputy Billy Barber of the Washington County Sheriff’s Department.
Barber noted that the bodies were uncovered during an investigation into a possible break-in at the facility.
Officials are continuing to examine Creath’s actions since his license was revoked and are determining whether additional charges are warranted.
