Liv Bridge
Warning: contains graphic descriptions that some readers may find distressing
A mortuary worker has been charged with allegedly abusing the corpse of a convicted sex offender.
Amber Laudermilk worked as an embalmer at Memorial Mortuary & Crematory in Houston, Texas, before she was accused of castrating a dead body post-mortem.
The undertakers had received the body of Charles Roy Rodriguez, whom Laudermilk stands accused of abusing.
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Rodriguez was a life-registered sex offender who died of natural causes at a Houston hospital in January this year at the age of 58, reports The Mirror.
He received the sentence in 2001 after sexually assaulting a 31-year-old woman.
Court documents show his body arrived at the mortuary on February 7.
When Laudermilk discovered Rodriguez's history, it is alleged she used a scalpel to abuse his body.
Witness claim they saw the 34-year-old jab the blade into his groin on two occasions before chopping off his penis and putting it in his mouth.
Precinct One Constable Alan Rosen said: "No matter what one thinks of his life, the law requires that he be treated with dignity in death.
"This case is about two troubled people: the victim who was a registered sex offender and the defendant, who is accused of viciously attacking his dead body," he added.
Laudermilk has been charged with the abuse of a corpse, a felony, and has been given a $5,000 bond before her next hearing on May 13.
“I don’t know the suspect’s past, but we have the utmost empathy for anyone who has been the victim of a sexual assault or is the family or friend of someone who has been the victim of a sexual assault,” Rosen continued. “The facts clearly indicate she was angry, and I hope after this is resolved in the courts, she gets the help she needs.”
Charging documents identify two employees at the mortuary witnessed the alleged crime, reports NBC News.
Laudermilk also reportedly told a witness, an embalming student, "You didn't see anything," in a way that the witness 'perceived to be as threatening.'
The second witness claimed to notice Rodriguez's groin was 'disfigured' which Laudermilk allegedly covered up with a towel.
When the witness asked Laudermilk what had happened at the time, she allegedly responded that the dead man had 'a lot going on with him,' according to the charging documents.
A complaint was subsequently filed to local police as of February 19 and earlier this month, the Texas Funeral Service Commission suspended Laudermilk's embalmer license.
A spokesperson with Harris County Precinct One also told the news outlet that Laudermilk surrendered herself in to the authorities and is in custody at Harris County Jail.