Docs: Man "obsessed" with woman whose body was stolen from casket
SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Police in San Antonio say a man who was the last to leave the funeral where a woman's body was stolen from a casket was "obsessed" with the deceased woman, according to an incident report obtained by 48 Hours' Crimesider.
Investigators say Julie Mott, 26, was taken from her casket at Mission Parks Funeral Chapel North on Saturday Aug. 15. Mott died on Aug. 8 from cystic fibrosis.
San Antonio Police Sgt. Javier Salazar said Mott's service ended around 1:30 p.m., and her remains were taken into a private visitation area in the back of the funeral home. Police believe her body was stolen during the next three hours, before the funeral home closed for the day.
In the incident report, police say an unidentified person who had been invited to the service and was the last to leave had been "obsessed" with Mott and had been calling and texting her.
A San Antonio police spokeswoman, Romana Lopez, confirmed to Crimesider that the person is a man, but said police are not identifying him because no arrest warrants have been issued and no suspects have been named.
She couldn't comment on any possible relationship the man may have had with Mott.
Police said they don't believe Mott's body was removed overnight, because an alarm at the facility had not been triggered and there didn't appear to be any forced entry.
"The next morning when they came back to the funeral home, they discovered that the casket Ms. Mott had been in for the service was actually empty," said Sgt. Salazar. "Her remains had been removed."
Her father, Tim Mott, told CBS affiliate KENS that the disappearance of the young woman's body has made it even harder for her family to deal with her death.
"We just want our daughter's remains returned so we can have some closure to our grief," said Tim Mott, Julie Mott's father.
Police are continuing to investigate tips, KENS reports.
The Mission Parks Funeral Home is reportedly offering $20,000 to help catch whoever stole the body.