Man taken into custody for allegedly stealing entombed body parts in Jefferson County

Authorities out of Jefferson County announced Wednesday that a man was taken into custody for allegedly stealing entombed body parts.

On Tuesday, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office issued a warrant for the arrest of John Wayne Belknap, 46, for his connection to the theft of entombed body parts from a mausoleum at Crown Hill Cemetery, according to the sheriff's office.

Jeffco investigators say they were reportedly able to identify Belknap from evidence left at the scene. There does not appear to be a relationship between the suspect and the decedents that are entombed within the mausoleum, the sheriff's office said. 

Belknap was taken into custody on Friday by the Denver Police Department and is being held inside Jefferson County jail on charges of felony criminal mischief, abuse of a corpse, third-degree burglary, theft, and desecration of a venerated object.