A Las Vegas woman was recently arrested after surveillance footage showed her stealing a casket containing a body from a local funeral home. The woman, identified as 47-year-old Patricia Sierra, claimed she had no memory of the incident, attributing her actions to a blackout from heavy drinking. Sierra is currently facing charges of burglary, grand larceny, and disturbing human remains.
The incident took place on August 27 and was recorded by the funeral home’s security cameras. 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 later discovered abandoned on a nearby sidewalk.
Upon their arrival, officers found 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 unusual theft occurred.
The surveillance footage showed a woman, later identified as Sierra, breaking the front window of the funeral home and unlocking the door from the inside. The video captured 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 arrested two days later when she was recognized at a nearby convenience store. During her interaction with the police, Sierra expressed regret for her actions and attributed them to a substance abuse problem that often resulted in blackouts. She insisted that she had no recollection of the incident, even after a detective showed her the surveillance footage.
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.