Man broke into funeral home to steal mother-in-law’s body

A man busted into a UK funeral home to steal back his mother-in-law’s body — taking matters into his own hands after he had not heard from the undertaker, according to a new report.

Desperate to make sure his mother-in-law was given a proper send-off, the man, who did not want to be identified, removed the body after he couldn’t reach anyone from Butterfly Funeral Services in Rochester, Kent to discuss arrangements, The Telegraph reported.

He brought the body to another undertaker in the back of a hire van — and told his wife nothing of his actions because he didn’t want to upset her, according to the report.

“I had no option…I had to get the body out,” the man told the outlet. “I had taken on all of the organizing and I didn’t want to bother my wife at this time…She still to this day doesn’t know what happened and I won’t be telling her.”

The man said he told local police of his plans and removed the body in broad daylight — returning later to pick up the clothes his mother-in-law wanted to be buried in.

The body-snatching happened a year ago, but was only revealed this week as bailiffs repossessed the funeral home, which had gone bust, according to the report.

Bailiffs found 16 full urns on a shelf — which had not been reunited with their families. Those urns have since been moved to another parlor as efforts are made to reach out to relatives.

Karen Calder, who ran the business, had racked up multiple unpaid bills and was banned from using local crematoriums.

She placed a handwritten note in the shop window apologizing for distress and asking families to email her if they wanted to collect their relatives’ ashes.

Robert Lawrence, manager of Medway Funeral Directors — which eventually handled the burial — said the man made multiple attempts to contact Calder about the arrangements.

It wasn’t clear whether the man was charged with a crime in connection to the body-snatching, but police were aware of his intentions before he took off with the corpse, Lawrence told the outlet.

“He spent a long while in contact with the police and in the end said, ‘I’ve just got to go and get her,’ Lawrence told the outlet. “When he did arrive with the body, we did all we could to help. He was very distressed and his wife still doesn’t know.”

These horror stories shouldn’t happen,” he added. “That parlor was never regulated by anybody, and it’s a terrible thing to have gone through.”

via:  https://nypost.com/2018/08/31/man-broke-into-funeral-home-to-steal-mother-in-laws-body/