When a couple lost their baby, they often left flowers and mementos at his gravesite. After a visit, they noticed someone else had been there and disrespected the grave.
Jacob and Tashanna Armstrong experienced a tragedy that no parents should face. In 2017, they lost their beloved son at birth and mourned his passing in the months and years that followed.
They frequented McKade's Oklahoma grave whenever they longed for him, and the couple always left pinwheels and flowers for their son at his treasured burial site.
[Left] The gravesite of an infant; [Right] An elderly man caught stealing from a grave. | Source: youtube.com/Inside Edition
GRAVESITE THEFT
Sadly, not everyone shows respect for people's final resting places. Gravesite theft has increased, and hidden cameras have captured numerous individuals stealing from the deceased.
The Armstrongs revealed that they noticed things disappearing from their son's grave roughly a month after burying him, and these actions were unacceptable.
A couple sit at the gravesite of their baby boy. | Source: youtube.com/Inside Edition
CATCHING THE CULPRIT
Jacob was furious and decided to set up a hidden camera nearby to catch the guilty party in action. Their first attempt only got footage of the lower half of two suspects standing around McKade's grave.
He repositioned the camera and managed to catch the culprit red-handed. An older man casually walked by the grave before quickly grabbing the pinwheel.
A man sets up a hidden camera near his son's grave | Source: youtube.com/Inside Edition
IT WAS DISRESPECTFUL
Tashanna was shocked, and she said: "This pinwheel doesn't mean a whole lot to the next person, but it does mean a lot to the person who placed it there." She could not believe someone would be so disrespectful toward a child.
Together with her husband, she gave the footage to police, and Deputy Chief James Logsdon at the North Enid Police Department expressed: "It would be hard to find a more defenseless victim than someone buried out here."
An elderly man caught stealing from a grave. | Source: youtube.com/Inside Edition
CHARGING THE THIEF
Authorities released photos of the suspect, and he was quickly identified as 77-year-old Alfred Boyer. He was charged with petty larceny, and when confronted about his theft of the sentimental items, he apologized.
Boyer couldn't explain why he stole the items but stated that he liked pinwheels. He added that he was not a bad person, but netizens don't seem to agree.
The man who stole mementos from a baby's grave | Source: youtube.com/Inside Edition
THE ONLINE REACTION
One user said: "Stealing from a dead person, especially a child is horrible."Another added: "I don't trust people who say they aren't bad people. Why you gotta convince me that you aren't a bad person? Shouldn't your actions speak for themselves?"
The Armstrong family was glad to have brought the guilty party to justice and hoped that the stealing would stop and urge other thieves to think twice before disrespecting people's final resting places.
ANOTHER MAN SETS UP A HIDDEN CAMERA
Setting up hidden cameras has become popular as the world becomes increasingly unsafe. Thanks to her camera, a woman from Nova Scotia witnessed her landlord sneaking around her apartment while she was away last year.
Tyisha Macleod was shocked by the footage, which showed the man smelling her pillows and inspecting her bedding. She decided to press charges and planned to move out at the end of her lease.
Hidden cameras helped Macleod and the Armstrong family, who could take their cases to the police and ensure the guilty parties were brought to book.
ncG1vNJzZmimlazAb63MqKSapZFjsLC5jmtvcGpna3qxrdGepa2rXayur8CMpKWor12stbB50q2mpZ1dorKusc2tpqxlo6S7b7TTpqM%3D