Investigators in Houston are searching for a woman accused of stealing from the dead, taking jewelry and other valuables from a cemetery mausoleum, and they say a young child was with her when it happened. Precinct 5 constable's deputies have released surveillance video of the case and are asking the public for help in identifying her.
The surveillance footage, provided by Precinct 5, shows a woman walking through the mausoleum at a cemetery along the Katy Freeway in West Houston, with a toddler nearby. According to investigators, she appears to examine multiple glass-front cremation niches before settling on one of them.
Deputies say the woman then used a tool to open one of the niches and steal the jewelry and other valuables that had been left inside. The entire time, the small child remained right beside her, a detail that has only deepened the sense of unease surrounding the case.
For the families affected, the theft has reopened painful wounds. One woman told reporters that her brother's remains were among those disturbed, and she shared a photo showing how the niche had looked before the theft, a small tribute to her loved one.
When the cemetery was visited after the theft, the cross and rosary the woman said had been placed with her brother's remains were missing. She described the experience as feeling like she was losing her loved one all over again, with deeply sentimental items taken from his final resting place.
Deputies believe the same woman may be connected to at least one other theft at the very same mausoleum earlier this year. That suggests the site may have been targeted more than once, raising concern among families with loved ones laid to rest there.
Investigators described the suspect as a heavy-set woman with several tattoos and dark hair, and they released images from the surveillance video in hopes someone will recognize her. Precinct 5 is urging anyone who knows the woman, believes they were targeted, or has any information to come forward as they work to determine exactly what has been happening at the cemetery.