Husband broke into undertaker's to 'steal' mother-in-law's body - and has not told his wife

David Harding
·Contributor
The desperate husband has admitted breaking into an undertaker’s days before his mother-in-law’s funeral (SWNS)
The desperate husband has admitted breaking into an undertaker’s days before his mother-in-law’s funeral (SWNS)

A man has admitted breaking into a Kent funeral parlour to steal his mother-in-law’s body – and he still has not told his wife.

The husband took the desperate action after hearing horror stories about Butterfly Funeral Services in Rochester.

He had been unable to contact the undertaker just days before the service.

He broke in to the undertakers in broad daylight, with the help of nearby workers.

The incident happened a year ago but has only now come to light after bailiffs repossessed the parlour.

‘I had no option – I’d even spent two days at the police station trying to track the owner down, but I just couldn’t get hold of her. I had to get the body out,’ the husband, who does not wish to be named, said.

‘I had taken on all of the organising and I didn’t want to bother my wife at this time.

‘She still to this day doesn’t know what happened and I won’t be telling her.’

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He said he used nearby traders to act as a lookout. They confirmed the incredible tale.

‘Apparently some relatives travelled to visit the body at the parlour but when they arrived no-one answered the door,’ said a female shop worker near the parlour.

‘They started to all really worry and his wife was very upset.

‘He parked the van very close, right outside the store, and as he went round the alleyway to the back of the store we distracted people on the street and got them to walk round the front of the van.

‘I went round the alleyway to see if he was okay, he and a younger man had lifted this tiny body into a sack barrow. The body was covered in a sheet.

‘They put it straight into the van. It was broad daylight, I actually can’t believe it happened.

‘I went on a date afterwards and told him what happened and he didn’t believe me.’

After bailiffs repossessed the parlour earlier this week, it was revealed they discovered 16 full urns on a shelf, which had not been returned to relatives.

The undertaker owner has now been banned from using services at a nearby crematorium over unpaid bills.

Butterfly has now ceased trading.