Mortuary transport worker took ring off dead woman and pawned it, California cops say

A mortuary transport employee stole a dead woman’s ring and pawned it, California officials said.

A decedent transportation service employee stole the jewelry off the body of a woman who died in September //at a Riverside hospital, the Riverside Police Department said Thursday in a news release.

“A mortuary based out of Orange County handled arrangements for the family and used a decedent transport company to drive the woman’s body to their mortuary facility,” police said. “A few days later, family members noticed a ring, valued at several thousand dollars, was missing from the decedent’s hand.”

A police department investigation discovered that the ring had been pawned in Los Angeles County by one of the drivers. It was returned to the woman’s family, according to the police department.

Mark Anthony Zuniga, 27 of Downey was arrested Tuesday on one count of “removing articles from a dead body, which is a felony violation,” police said.

“He has since been released on a ‘Notice to Appear’ citation due to current bail schedules for non-violent offenses in California,” police said. “Additionally, Mr. Zuniga has been relieved of his transportation duties.”

This story was originally published December 4, 2020 at 4:19 PM with the headline "Mortuary transport worker took ring off dead woman and pawned it, California cops say."