You might walk past a grave and see a beautiful bouquet of flowers and think “Those would look good in my living room,” but (we’re hoping) you don’t follow through on the impulse for free flora. However, one florist has been accused of repeatedly stealing plants and flowers from local grave sites.
Police in Pequannock Township, NJ, say they received multiple reports of items being filched from graves at a church cemetery.
Detectives went to work, replacing two of the missing plants in front of an ash columbarium and installing surveillance cameras in the area last week.
Two days later, property managers reported that the plants were missing again. Surveillance footage showed a woman driving up in a minivan, getting out of the car, and taking the plants.
Officers working with another local police department were able to identify the suspect from the video footage, as she’s a former police dispatcher and current flower shop owner in the neighboring town.
The woman was arrested and charged with the theft of moveable property and released. It’s unclear whether or not she actually sold any of the pilfered plants. Because nothing says “I love you” like a bouquet of freshly gathered grave flowers.
[h/t ABC-7]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist