Woman arrested, accused of stealing vehicle and corpse at Fort Worth hospital
FORT WORTH — Police have arrested an Azle woman after surveillance video showed her driving away from John Peter Smith Hospital's ambulance bay Tuesday evening in a vehicle loaded with a corpse.
Fort Worth police arrested 35-year-old Valerie Traglor-Ellis in connection to the alleged theft. She is charged with auto theft and abuse of a corpse.
According to the report, the vehicle was originally reported stolen by a Tarrant County Medical Examiner employee at 7:04 p.m. from 1500 S Main St.
Investigators say the vehicle was recovered outside of the Fort Worth Zoo, 2 miles away from the hospital.
Security footage shows Traglor-Ellis exiting the stolen vehicle and leaving the area on foot.
The police report shows Traglor-Ellis was booked hours later at 10:11 p.m.
Tarrant County court records show Traglor-Ellis has previously been charged with theft of property valued between $100 and $750, a Class B misdemeanor, in July of 2018.
