Woman Steals Ring From Dead Body In Coffin — Tears Skin On 88-Year-Old [Video]


Vel McKee was shocked to see a woman steal a ring from her dead mother’s hand as she lay in her coffin, as seen in the following video, titled “Funeral Parlor Thief.”

Warning: The following video might be disturbing to some viewers.

The video was uploaded to YouTube on Saturday, April 9 and has been gaining steady views and reactions from viewers ever since.

“Woman steals ring from deceased body in funeral parlor.”

As reported by the Mirror, it was Lois Hicks who was in the coffin and set to be buried. Her daughter, Vel, said she was left sick to her stomach after watching the video, which shows the thief hovering over Lois’ mother’s body. The video shows the unknown thief working away at the dead body, apparently trying to remove a ring from her hand. The body moves as the woman works to get the ring off of the corpse’s hand.

It happened in Odessa, Texas, at the Sunset Memorial Gardens & Funeral Home, located at 6801 E. Business 20.

Although Odessa police haven’t released much information about who the woman might be, folks who watch the video have offered tips. As reported by OA Online, the suspected thief is already being accused by name by at least one person thus far who has commented on the incident.

Either way, McKee reported that her 88-year-old mother’s skin was even ruptured after the thief brazenly tore the ring off of her finger. Vel reported to authorities that she had never seen the woman in the video prior to watching the security footage. However, the force that the woman used to rip the ring off of Vel’s mother’s left hand left McKee upset over the torn skin and desecration of a dead body.

The thief entered the Odessa funeral home after a visitation service was held on Friday and took advantage of the time of grief to steal the wedding ring. People are often buried with their jewelry as a symbol of love for their spouses or loved ones. The ring remained on Hick’s hand to remember her late husband Gayle, who preceded Lois in death by three years.

Meanwhile, McKee is hoping the thief is caught.

“I can’t believe someone would be that low. It makes me sick to my stomach. Horrible. I hope they catch her. We had only been gone for 15 minutes. It’s just heartbreaking. We just never dreamed that something like this would happen. Not in a million years.”

The funeral home’s manager, Bill Vallie, said that the security video shows the thief parking her car and entering the funeral home. The dead woman’s loved ones had departed the funeral home prior to the thief arriving around 5:27 p.m. local time on Friday. The thief asked to use the bathroom but ended up in the room with the dead body instead.

Authorities are investigating the information they have, including the vehicle’s license plate — and Hick’s family plans to press charges against the thief. While theft of jewelry in funeral homes has happened before, to catch it on video is another thing altogether. It is reportedly the first time it occurred at the Odessa funeral home, which opened in 1999.

McKee discovered the missing ring from her mother’s finger after she and her sister, Brenda Vaughan, worked on applying cosmetics and doing the hair of their beloved mother.

Those who know something about the thief are being asked to contact the Odessa Police Department at 335-5784 or Odessa Crime Stoppers at 333-8477.

On YouTube, folks are writing a myriad of reactions to the video.

“May as well not doing any good buried.”

“So? She’s dead. Has no idea it was taken.”

“How horrible.”

“No respect for the deceased? Some things means more to some people more than others, if I had a girl I like give me a ring, I would wear the s*** out of it and want to get buried with it, since I earned it and it means something special to me. I hate punching women but the one in the video deserves one.”

[Image via Shutterstock]

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