A woman told Las Vegas police that she stole a $2,600 casket containing a body inside from a funeral home because she "blacked out from drinking six beers," according to an arrest report.
The 47-year-old woman was charged on Aug. 29 with burglary of a business, grand larceny and the removal, transfer and distribution of human remains, a Las Vegas Metropolitan police officer wrote in an arrest report obtained by USA TODAY.
Las Vegas Metropolitan police became aware of the woman's alleged crimes on Aug. 27 when officers got a call about a suspicious person lying face down in front of a business, according to the report. The reporting individual told police that a casket was in front of the Affordable Cremation & Burial Service and that the funeral home appeared to be burglarized, the document said.
When officers got to the scene, they found the casket sitting on a cart on a sidewalk near the funeral home, the report says. The officers found the body, which had its feet covered with plastic bags, lying face down on some rocks near the front walkway of the property, the report continued. An open door with broken glass on the side of the funeral home was also observed by the officers.
One officer found paperwork confirming that the deceased individual arrived at the funeral home on Aug. 20, the report says. The person's viewing took place on Aug. 26, the paperwork showed, per the report.
The officers were met by flower petals when they entered the viewing room of the funeral home, which was otherwise untouched aside from the broken glass and door, according to the report.
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Woman seen on surveillance video stealing casket
The woman did not become a suspect until officers looked over surveillance footage, which showed a female entering the business by breaking the front window and reaching through it to unlock the door, the report says.
The female in the video then walked to the viewing room, went to the casket and brought it out the front door, the document continued, adding that she made multiple trips in and out of the funeral home before leaving.
A construction worker approached officers at the scene and told them he saw a woman who looked like the female in the surveillance video holding flowers and sitting on one of the funeral home's exterior walls on the day of the incident, according to the report.
Officers were able to identify the woman when they got a call on Aug. 29 regarding a suspicious person at a 7-Eleven, the arrest report says. The 911 caller told the operator that he saw the person who stole the casket from the funeral home and she was at the convenience store wearing the same clothing from the day of the incident, the document continued.
Woman detained, admits to being 'blacked out' on day of the incident
A responding officer detained the woman under reasonable suspicion that she was the person who stole the casket from the funeral home, the report says. When officers began explaining to the woman how she was caught on surveillance video and that the scene was processed for DNA and fingerprints, she divulged how she often "blacks out" due to a substance abuse problem, according to the report.
The woman told the officer she got around using a red BMX bicycle, which matched the description of the bicycle found at the scene and spotted in surveillance video, the report says. The woman also said the common method she utilized to burglarize businesses in the past was to "use a rock to break a window," the document continued.
The woman, who appeared to be apologetic, explained to the officer that she was not trying to be malicious and that if she was drunk that day then she did not mean to steal the casket, according to the report.
When a detective interviewed the woman and showed her the surveillance video, she told him she blacked out and did not remember doing it, the report says. She then admitted to drinking six beers that day prompting her to black out, the document continued.
USA TODAY contacted Affordable Cremation & Burial Service on Wednesday but has not received a response.
