Couple stole brass vases from graves, sold them for scrap metal, Louisiana cops say

A couple stole brass vases from 102 grave sites and sold them for scrap metal, according to a Louisiana sheriff’s office.

Deputies arrested a 38-year-old and his 33-year-old girlfriend on Sept. 14 following a one-month investigation into the disappearance of vases at the Hill Crest Cemetery in Haughton.

Detectives used surveillance camera video from the cemetery, as well as scrap metal records, according to a post on the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office Facebook page. Detectives found the man had sold “a large amount of solid red brass” to a recycling facility in Shreveport, about 20 miles west of Haughton.

The man and his girlfriend had been using a vehicle with Nevada license plates to haul the stolen vases from the cemetery, according to the sheriff’s office. Authorities were able to identify four different styles of vase that had gone missing from 102 grave sites.

The man and his girlfriend face seven counts of simple burglary of immovable structures and 102 counts of desecration of graves, the statement says. The man is also charged with one count of failure to appear and one count of failure to notify law enforcement of change of address as a sex offender.

The man and woman were taken to the Bossier Parish Maximum Security Facility. She was given a bond of $150,000, and his bond was set at $266,000.

Detectives are asking anyone who’s had a brass vase go missing from a loved one’s grave to call the sheriff’s office at 318-965-3418.

This story was originally published September 16, 2022 at 3:34 PM with the headline "Couple stole brass vases from graves, sold them for scrap metal, Louisiana cops say."