Police arrested a Harrison man accused of stealing items – including human remains – from a mortuary chapel where he worked.
Officers said 26-year-old Alan Smith stole downspouts, an air conditioner, copper wiring and about 20 bronze urns Thursday from Hillside Chapel in Clifton.
"What's the sickest you've ever been, and your stomach is rolling the next morning? You get my drift? My stomach's been rolling ever since I found this," said Hillside Chapel owner Don Catchen.
Investigators said about half the urns contained cremated human remains, which officers said were removed before the urns were sold to a local scrap yard.
Those ashes have been found and identified. Catchen said they were still in their original individual plastic bags, but had been hidden on a shelf.
Seventeen of the urns were new, valued at more than $20,000 total.
"In 49 years of being a funeral director, this is one of the most devastating things that's ever occurred to me," he said.
The three abandoned bags of remains were still marked with their identities, Catchen said. They had been cremated in the 1960s and 1970s.
Catchen said police told him that a scrapyard refused to take the stolen urns the first time Smith tried to sell them. Police said Smith then stole a letterhead, forged permission and dented the urns to make them appear like trash.
Police said Smith cut up the urns before selling them, and officers said the scrap yard did nothing wrong when purchasing the items.
"As far as we can tell, the person who made the purchase had no knowledge bought the metal that it was an urn," said Kristen Shircliff, of Cincinnati police.
Smith was charged Tuesday with one count each of theft, vandalism and desecration.
The investigation is ongoing, and police anticipate additional charges.
Catchen said he will contact the families of the removed remains once he accounts for all of those missing.
"We will be coming up here and opening every one of these to be sure if there's any missing out of them," Catchen said.
A judge Wednesday set Smith's bond at $20,000. His attorney didn't immediately return a call. Smith's case will go before a grand jury to determine what charges, if any, he would be tried on.
Catchen said he had fired Smith in late January over attendance problems and other issues. Later, he found the three bags of ashes and then noticed that urns were missing from the crematory.
He said he would consult records to replace the urns with the specific style they were originally in. They came from an older room – the people had died several decades ago – where the urns with remains are kept in "niches," or cubes that have locked doors.
Police said they are still investigating, but they charged Smith after an interview in which he was asked about the missing urns. Police didn't immediately say how much he allegedly sold the urns for or where.
Catchen said he's never had such a problem at the crematory, which dates to the 19th century and houses remains of more than 11,000 people. He said a complete inventory will be done to make sure no other remains have been disturbed.
"My stomach's been churning and rolling ever since (he found the bags of ashes)," he said. He said he has been trying to track down the next of kin of the three people to let them know what happened.
The case was mentioned by Cincinnati council members Wednesday before they voted 5-4 for new rules requiring licenses, criminal background checks and a two-day wait to get paid for scrap metal sellers.
"How low can you go, to actually take the urns of someone's loved ones?" said councilman Cecil Thomas. "It just goes to show we're on the right track to make it difficult for individuals to unload those kinds of items."
SOURCE: http://www.wlwt.com/news/30458227/detail.html
"What's the sickest you've ever been, and your stomach is rolling the next morning? You get my drift? My stomach's been rolling ever since I found this," said Hillside Chapel owner Don Catchen.
Investigators said about half the urns contained cremated human remains, which officers said were removed before the urns were sold to a local scrap yard.
Those ashes have been found and identified. Catchen said they were still in their original individual plastic bags, but had been hidden on a shelf.
Seventeen of the urns were new, valued at more than $20,000 total.
"In 49 years of being a funeral director, this is one of the most devastating things that's ever occurred to me," he said.
The three abandoned bags of remains were still marked with their identities, Catchen said. They had been cremated in the 1960s and 1970s.
Catchen said police told him that a scrapyard refused to take the stolen urns the first time Smith tried to sell them. Police said Smith then stole a letterhead, forged permission and dented the urns to make them appear like trash.
Police said Smith cut up the urns before selling them, and officers said the scrap yard did nothing wrong when purchasing the items.
"As far as we can tell, the person who made the purchase had no knowledge bought the metal that it was an urn," said Kristen Shircliff, of Cincinnati police.
Smith was charged Tuesday with one count each of theft, vandalism and desecration.
The investigation is ongoing, and police anticipate additional charges.
Catchen said he will contact the families of the removed remains once he accounts for all of those missing.
"We will be coming up here and opening every one of these to be sure if there's any missing out of them," Catchen said.
A judge Wednesday set Smith's bond at $20,000. His attorney didn't immediately return a call. Smith's case will go before a grand jury to determine what charges, if any, he would be tried on.
Catchen said he had fired Smith in late January over attendance problems and other issues. Later, he found the three bags of ashes and then noticed that urns were missing from the crematory.
He said he would consult records to replace the urns with the specific style they were originally in. They came from an older room – the people had died several decades ago – where the urns with remains are kept in "niches," or cubes that have locked doors.
Police said they are still investigating, but they charged Smith after an interview in which he was asked about the missing urns. Police didn't immediately say how much he allegedly sold the urns for or where.
Catchen said he's never had such a problem at the crematory, which dates to the 19th century and houses remains of more than 11,000 people. He said a complete inventory will be done to make sure no other remains have been disturbed.
"My stomach's been churning and rolling ever since (he found the bags of ashes)," he said. He said he has been trying to track down the next of kin of the three people to let them know what happened.
The case was mentioned by Cincinnati council members Wednesday before they voted 5-4 for new rules requiring licenses, criminal background checks and a two-day wait to get paid for scrap metal sellers.
"How low can you go, to actually take the urns of someone's loved ones?" said councilman Cecil Thomas. "It just goes to show we're on the right track to make it difficult for individuals to unload those kinds of items."
SOURCE: http://www.wlwt.com/news/30458227/detail.html
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