HOUSTON (Gray News) – A licensed embalmer from Texas is facing charges after officials say she cut off a dead man’s penis in February with a scalpel after finding out he was a registered sex offender.
According to Constable Alan Rosen of Harris County, 34-year-old Amber Laudermilk is charged with felony abuse of a corpse for the incident at Memorial Mortuary and Crematory.
Officials say Laudermilk cut off the genitals of Charles Roy Rodriguez, 58, who was a registered sex offender.
A report from KPRC said Laudermilk allegedly then stuffed the man’s penis in his mouth before his cremation.
According to witnesses, Laudermilk did it after learning Rodriguez was a registered sex offender.
A charging document also states Laudermilk was in the presence of an embalming student at the time.
KPRC reports that Laudermilk allegedly told the trainee, “You didn’t see anything.”
Rodriguez died of natural causes at a Houston hospital in January. Officials said he was charged with sexual assault in 2001.
Laudermilk is no longer employed. She is charged with felony abuse of a corpse.
State officials are seeking to suspend or revoke her license.
“This case is about two troubled people: the victim who was a registered sex offender and the defendant, who is accused of viciously attacking his dead body,” Constable Alan Rosen said in a statement. “No matter what one thinks of his life, the law requires that he be treated with dignity in death.”
Rosen went on to say that he hopes Laudermilk gets “the help she needs.”
“I don’t know the suspect’s past, but we have the utmost empathy for anyone who has been the victim of a sexual assault or is the family or friend of someone who has been the victim of a sexual assault,” Rosen said. “The facts clearly indicate she was angry, and I hope after this is resolved in the courts, she gets the help she needs.”
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