Mass. man charged with taking gold from dead grandmother's neck

[madfranks]

What a turd!

A Bridgewater man has been charged with stealing a $5,000 gold chain from around his dead grandmother's neck as she lay in her casket. (http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/21133213/2013/02/12/mass-man-charged-with-taking-gold-from-dead-body)

Police say 25-year-old Shawn Michael Wilde, who has the words "only God can judge me" tattooed on his chest, showed up at a funeral home about 30 minutes before Mary Baroni's funeral on Jan. 28 and asked for a few minutes alone to say a prayer.

When Wilde left, the funeral director noticed that an 18-inch gold chain, which held Baroni's husband's wedding band formed into a heart, was missing.

Wilde left before police arrived.

Police issued a warrant for Wilde's arrest and he turned himself in Saturday.

[Spectrism]

He could buy enough drugs to last the next week with that. I wonder who it was going to. If they were just going to bury it, that was a waste.

[Awoke]

I was going to say, what good is it buried underground in a graveyard?

Also, the fact that he has "Only God can judge me" doesn't necessarily mean he's a douchebag. There are a lot of good and upstanding people that have tattoos similar or the same these days. It doens't mean he's some pill popping mexican gangster.

[madfranks]

I was going to say, what good is it buried underground in a graveyard?

I totally disagree. What good it may or may not be buried with her is not for you, me, or anyone else to decide except her family. It was her husband's wedding band, worn by him until he died and carried by her for the rest of her life, and it was intended to be left with her in death. How dare this man, under the false pretense of wanting to say a prayer, steal it off her neck?!?

[Awoke]

Franks I never said it was OK for him to steal it.
I am just saying it's a waste to buy gold with a corpse in general.

[vacuum]

Well, it was his grandmother. Who knows what was going on.....family situation.

[mamboni]

I was going to say, what good is it buried underground in a graveyard?

Also, the fact that he has "Only God can judge me" doesn't necessarily mean he's a douchebag. There are a lot of good and upstanding people that have tattoos similar or the same these days. It doens't mean he's some pill popping mexican gangster.

Yes, just because he stole a gold chain with great sentimental value off his grandmother's dead body under the pretense of praying does not in any way reflect negatively on his character or morality. Obviously, this is an innocent misunderstanding. He was probably going to get the chain cleaned and polished and then prompty returned to the dearly departed.:p

[Serpo]

Anyway its the undertakers that grab this stuff............................

[Spectrism]

The full story was not posted. In the OP- it states:


When Wilde left, the funeral director noticed that an 18-inch gold chain, which held Baroni's husband's wedding band formed into a heart, was missing.




But look at this version:


http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/20973627/necklace-stolen-off-neck-of-98-year-old-deceased-woman

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com)— Bridgewater police are investigating the reported theft of a wedding band and gold chain from the neck of a deceased woman inside a Bridgewater funeral home.
A male relative arrived about an hour early to the woman's wake at the Prophett-Chapman, Cole & Gleason funeral home. He said he could not attend the regular viewing hours and asked if he could go in early.
A short time later, family members noticed the woman's 18-inch gold chain missing from her neck. The chain had her deceased husband's wedding band on it and was reshaped into a heart.
Officers have reportedly identified the suspect and he is facing felony charges.


The first version did not say there were other surviving family members.

[Awoke]

Yes, just because he stole a gold chain with great sentimental value off his grandmother's dead body under the pretense of praying does not in any way reflect negatively on his character or morality. Obviously, this is an innocent misunderstanding. He was probably going to get the chain cleaned and polished and then prompty returned to the dearly departed.:p

As Spectrism said, we don't know the story or the dynamics of the family history.
Maybe him taking that necklace was the honorable thing to do, based on family history. I don't care to argue about it, I am just saying that you can't assume the worst because he has a slogan tattooed on himself.

[madfranks]

As Spectrism said, we don't know the story or the dynamics of the family history.
Maybe him taking that necklace was the honorable thing to do, based on family history. I don't care to argue about it, I am just saying that you can't assume the worst because he has a slogan tattooed on himself.

It stretches the mind to try and come up with a scenario where taking her dead husband's wedding band off of her dead body could be an honorable thing, but I concede the fact that we don't know the whole story or the dynamics of the family. As far as the "waste" of burying gold with a corpse, I see your point if we're talking bullion here, but jewelery of significant personal and sentimental value is a different story. When I die, if someone tried to take the gold wedding band off my finger, I'd come back to life as a zombie and bite them on the head.

[Spectrism]

It stretches the mind to try and come up with a scenario where taking her dead husband's wedding band off of her dead body could be an honorable thing, but I concede the fact that we don't know the whole story or the dynamics of the family. As far as the "waste" of burying gold with a corpse, I see your point if we're talking bullion here, but jewelery of significant personal and sentimental value is a different story. When I die, if someone tried to take the gold wedding band off my finger, I'd come back to life as a zombie and bite them on the head.

When I am dead.... I don't want a nickel spent on this old corpse. I wouldn't even waste a pine box. If you must, use a hefty trash bag. Let the worms have their fill. Gold? I would be ashamed of my offspring to bury gold with my rotting flesh. Once I leave it, it is mine no more.

[Neuro]

When I am dead.... I don't want a nickel spent on this old corpse. I wouldn't even waste a pine box. If you must, use a hefty trash bag. Let the worms have their fill. Gold? I would be ashamed of my offspring to bury gold with my rotting flesh. Once I leave it, it is mine no more.
Not even a smaller pyramid?

[joboo]

Hard to put a price on respecting someone at the summary, and conclusion of their life.

There is no monetary price available for that.

Pretty rotten, and selfish act.

[JDRock]

thats bad...as bad can be...BUT- who in the hell would trust that the minimum wage mexicans wouldnt steal it as soon as the hearses pulled away?
i think its beyond stupid to bury ANYTHING of value unless specifically asked to do so beforehand by the person. i mean, by all means expose the rotton charachter of the man but be realistic...people who work in cemetaries are not those of the highest moral code, imo

[mamboni]

Hard to put a price on respecting someone at the summary, and conclusion of their life.

There is no monetary price available for that.

Pretty rotten, and selfish act.

Yeah, I don't know who is the lower more desspicable lowlife miscreant, the person who steals from the dead, or the pathetic soul who would live a lie and promulgate mistruths and propaganda on internet forums for a few shekels a day.

[joboo]

Yeah, I don't know who is the lower more desspicable lowlife miscreant, the person who steals from the dead, or the pathetic soul who would live a lie and promulgate mistruths and propaganda on internet forums for a few shekels a day.

Ok Ramboni.... The internet super sleuth!

LOL...you're too much bro.

[horseshoe3]

It stretches the mind to try and come up with a scenario where taking her dead husband's wedding band off of her dead body could be an honorable thing,

When my grandmother died, she left a standard will equally dividing her estate between my father and my aunt. However, she also had left verbal instructions about certain items that she considered to have more sentimental than monetary value. Everyone in the family was aware of this situation, and everyone except my aunt wanted to honor her wishes. She insisted that everything should be divided "evenly" whatever that means, and made a real pain of herself making sure that certain people did not get what they were supposed to get out of spite. There was really no monetary advantage to her or her children, she just wanted to cause trouble. The honorable thing would have been to "disappear" these items and distribute them properly later. But noone wanted to start that kind of fight. I think this sort of thing happens a lot.

Now, to the news story. It does not say that the jewelry was to be buried with the corpse. What often happens is just before the lid gets closed, the undertaker pulls all the jewelry and gives it to the family. What if this ring had been promised to the guy's sister, but another family member with more pull was going to take it. Would it be honorable to let someone steal an heirloom from your sister, or would it be honorable to get it for her any way you could?

[Neuro]

Anyone who steals the silvercoin from my mouth, for Karons transport across Styx, I am going to haunt forever...

[madfranks]

Anyone who steals the silvercoin from my mouth, for Karons transport across Styx, I am going to haunt forever...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charon%27s_obol

Charon's obol is an allusive term for the coin placed in or on the mouth[1] of a dead person before burial. Greek and Latin literary sources specify the coin as an obol, and explain it as a payment or bribe for Charon, the ferryman who conveyed souls across the river that divided the world of the living from the world of the dead. Archaeological examples of these coins, of various denominations in practice, have been called "the most famous grave goods from antiquity."