A 24-year-old man, identified as Bobby Joe Washington, recently stole a mortuary van without realizing it contained a dead body.
About an hour later, upon discovering the corpse, Washington returned the van to its original location. He then allegedly stole another vehicle from the same premises.
According to Ryan Railsback, the officer investigating the incident, a mortuary attendant had parked the van outside the business and left the keys inside. Washington, who was walking around, spotted the vehicle and drove it away.
Railsback stated, "The van driver had just picked up a decedent and returned to the mortuary to get some paperwork. He left his key in the car, which made it easier for Washington to drive it away in no time."
Interestingly, Washington returned the van after finding the corpse. However, he attempted to steal another vehicle from the same location. During this attempt, he tried to run over an employee who tried to stop him.
Railsback noted, "Of all the bad judgments that this man made, at least he made one good one, which was to leave the deceased person alone."
Washington was eventually arrested after a pursuit and charged with vehicle theft and assault with a deadly weapon. He was not charged with the theft of the dead body, as authorities believed he did not intend to steal the corpse, given that he returned it.
The recovered account cited reporting by Tuko.
