Maine funeral home worker sentenced for stealing rings from body of woman, 102
SACO, Maine – A former employee for a Maine funeral home was sentenced to three months in prison on Wednesday for stealing wedding and engagement rings from the body of a 102-year-old woman and selling them at a pawn shop.
Stuart C. Weston, 51, of Sanford, was sentenced for felony theft in York County Superior Court, WCSH-TV reported.
Weston was working for the Autumn Green Funeral home in Alfred on Jan. 21, 2021, when he was sent to the Seal Rock Healthcare nursing facility in Saco to pick up the body of Laura Wood, The Press-Herald of Portland reported.
Wood’s daughter, Sally Wood, told WCSH that she later discovered the funeral home did not have her mother’s diamond ring or wedding bands.
“I was upset,” Sally Wood told the television station in January 2021. “That’s my mother and father in that ring. It’s not just the financial part it’s the sentimental value. They were going to be passed onto my kids.”
Sally Wood posted a picture on social media and began checking pawn shops, discovering the jewelry at Maine Gold and Silver in South Portland, WCSH reported.
“By the grace of God they had the ring,” she told the television station. “Unbelievable. I never thought I would see it again.”
The pawnshop also had security footage and information about the man who sold them the ring.
“Through records and video, we were able to identify a suspect and obtain a warrant for that person’s arrest,” Saco Police Department Deputy Chief Corey Huntress said in February 2021.
Laura Wood’s granddaughter, Emily Coyne, said the family was relieved to recover the rings but also disturbed by the theft.
“Taking care of someone’s dead body should be something sacred,” Coyne told the Press-Herald. “Knowing this happened has been an awful distraction to our ability to grieve her.”
Coyne told the newspaper her grandmother’s wedding ring — three rings fused together — were appraised years ago at about $4,000.
The Autumn Green Funeral Home said through its attorney that Weston had been fired, WCSH reported.
Weston will begin serving his sentence at York County Jail on June 1, the television station reported.
