A woman in Las Vegas was apprehended after she was caught on camera stealing a casket containing a body from a local funeral home. The suspect, Patricia Sierra, 47, claimed she had no recollection of the incident, attributing her actions to a blackout caused by excessive drinking. Sierra is now facing charges of burglary, grand larceny, and disturbing human remains.
The incident occurred on August 27 and was captured on the funeral home’s surveillance system. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police were alerted to the situation around 3 a.m. when a passerby reported a body lying face down in front of the Affordable Cremation & Burial Service funeral home. The casket was found abandoned on a nearby sidewalk.
Upon arrival, officers discovered the body with its feet wrapped in plastic bags, lying face down on rocks near the entrance of the funeral home. The deceased individual had been delivered to the funeral home on August 20 and had been viewed on August 26, just a day before the bizarre theft took place.
The surveillance footage revealed a woman, later identified as Sierra, breaking the front window of the funeral home and unlocking the door from the inside. The video showed her entering the viewing room, dragging the casket out of the front door, and making several trips in and out of the funeral home before finally leaving the scene.
Sierra was apprehended two days later when she was recognized at a nearby convenience store. During her interaction with the police, Sierra expressed remorse for her actions and attributed them to a substance abuse problem that often led to blackouts. She maintained that she had no memory of the incident, even after being shown the surveillance footage by a detective.
Sierra’s bail was set at $11,000 and she remained in custody as of Wednesday. A representative for Affordable Cremation and Burial Service declined to comment on the ongoing investigation, only confirming that an individual had been arrested for attempting to burglarize their establishment.