‘He Stole A Dead Man’s Clothes’: Kentucky Funeral Director

LEITCHFIELD, KY — Police in Leitchfield, Kentucky, are looking for a man caught on surveillance video stealing a dead man’s clothing and jewelry, taking a nap inside the funeral home, and making off with several electronic devices and the keys to a hearse during his nearly three-hour foray inside a local funeral home. The family of the dead man, 81-year-old Ray Daugherty, only wants the culprit to get “right with God,” according to media reports.

The video shows the man stripping down to nothing, then putting on Daugherty’s burial suit — a green sports jacket and khaki pants. The video also showed him eating candy and drinking soda, Leitchfield Police Detective Kevin Smith said.

Police said they think the man may have been involved in a theft at a local Walmart before the burglary at the funeral home last week. (Sign up for real-time news alerts and free morning newsletters from Louisville Patch, or find another Kentucky Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

In statement to WAVE-TV, funeral home director Jason Watson said security personnel chased the shoplifting suspect for 30-45 minutes before the funeral home break-in. The funeral home is about a half mile from the Walmart store.

On Facebook, Watson appealed to Leitchfield area residents to help police identify the intruder. “Yes, he stole a dead man’s clothes,” he said, according to a report by Fox News.

Rebecca Miller, Daugherty’s daughter, said her father would ask that the man be forgiven, WYMT-TV reported. “He would say I hope he gets his justice, but I hope he gets right with God and doesn’t ever do this anybody else,” Miller aid. “Never, ever, ever.”

Smith said the man must have been desperate, WPSD-TV reported.

“If you have some type of issue that you’re going through that you got so desperate that you had to do something like this, we will help you in any way we can,” he said.

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