TENNESSEE COMPUTERS STOLEN http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20101231/NEWS06/91231030

Jewelry stolen off body in funeral home

GANNETT NEWS SERVICE • DECEMBER 31, 2010

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Thieves broke into a Goodlettsville, Tenn., funeral home early Wednesday morning and stripped a pair of diamond earrings and a wedding ring set off the body of a woman just hours before her funeral.

Goodlettsville police said they hope someone will come forward with information about the break-in. There are very few leads, investigators said.

Mary Ann Morgan, general manager of Forest Lawn Funeral Home and Cemetery, said the burglary was a first for the funeral home.

She has been with the business for 26 years.

“It really just makes me sick that anyone would do something like this,” Morgan said.

“The hurt that this person or persons caused the family, there’s just no forgiveness for that.”
In addition to the jewelry, two flat-screen televisions, two computers, a sound system and a white 2004 Ford van bearing the “Dignity Memorial” logo were taken.

Morgan said the body of Robbie Sue Williams, 79, was the only one inside the funeral home at the time. Other than the missing jewelry, she said the body was undisturbed.

Williams’ funeral was held at 1 p.m. Wednesday. She died Christmas Day.

Larry Kirby, a neighbor of Williams’, said he had known her for about 14 years. He said she loved country music and often held dances for family and friends in a barn on her property.

“It’s terrible that this happened to her,” Kirby said. “But, it’s also terrible for Forest Lawn. It’s where my parents and grandparents are buried and it’s where I’m going to be buried. You’ve got to be a low-class person to do something like this. I think stealing off the dead goes beyond bad. It’s just wicked.”

The funeral home’s burglar alarm was triggered during the break-in, but the security company failed to notify anyone about it.

“I don’t know what happened,” she said. “We’ve been with this company for about 10 to 12 years and they’ve always done excellent work for us. This is a shock.”

Morgan and Goodlettsville Police Chief Richard Pope would not release the name of the security company. Pope said the business was not under investigation. “We don’t have any reason to suspect that anyone at the alarm company was involved,” Pope said. “I think whoever was on duty didn’t follow procedures. If they had called us, there is a strong likelihood that we could have caught the burglars inside the building. It would have saved the family a lot of grief.”