Updated

Updated · Fox News · Aug 30

Indiana Trio Arrested in 20 Florida Cemetery Thefts, Stealing Valuables From Mausoleum Niches

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Aug 30

Indiana Trio Arrested in 20 Florida Cemetery Thefts, Stealing Valuables From Mausoleum Niches

Q: With a reward offered, how many more grieving families remain unaware that their loved ones' final resting places were desecrated?

Investigators do not know how many more families are unaware, but they have said the number could be significant. The clearest confirmed figure is about 20 cases in Florida, with more than $35,000 in losses in Orange, Seminole and Hillsborough counties and Winter Park. Authorities also say the suspects targeted cemeteries in at least nine or 10 states across the eastern United States, including Oklahoma, Minnesota, Texas, Georgia, Iowa, North Carolina, New York, Illinois and New Jersey. That broad footprint is why detectives keep warning that additional victims likely exist. Before the arrests, Central Florida Crimeline offered up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest. Even after the suspects were identified and taken into custody, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office continued asking families nationwide to inspect mausoleum niches and report missing keepsakes, saying investigators are still trying to identify more victims and determine the full scope of the thefts. So the practical answer is that no verified nationwide total exists yet. Law enforcement has confirmed dozens of desecrations only in part of the case, but the public warnings, multistate evidence and repeated appeals from investigators strongly indicate that more grieving families may still not realize their loved ones’ resting places were disturbed.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 30

Three Indiana suspects were charged after Orange County, Florida, investigators tied them to cemetery niche break-ins across the eastern half of the United States; one surrendered in Florida and two were arrested in Indiana.
Twenty Florida cases have already been identified, with about $35,000 in valuables reported stolen from cemeteries in Orange, Seminole and Hillsborough counties, though detectives say more victims may not yet know they were hit.
Surveillance footage allegedly shows the trio opening glass-front mausoleum niches and taking jewelry and keepsakes left with cremated remains, including wedding rings, class rings, chains and former UCF coach Charles Taaffe’s championship rings.
Milam, 33, Garrett, 52, and Bancroft, 32, face charges including injuring or removing a tomb or monument, disturbing grave or tomb contents, and grand theft over $20,000; Milam and Garrett are to be extradited to Florida.
Authorities say the group traveled from Oklahoma City to Buffalo, New York, and are urging families nationwide to inspect loved ones’ burial sites and contact Central Florida Crimeline if items are missing.