A Texas embalmer has been charged with castrating a dead sex offender and stuffing his penis in his mouth.
Amber Paige Laudermilk faces a charge of abuse of the corpose of Charles Roy Rodriguez, 58, a registered sex offender who got no jail time after being charged with a rape in 2001 and given a “deferred adjudication.”,y
“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,” 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.”
Rodriguez died of natural causes at a Houston hospital in January. The mutilation allegedly took place in February. According to a charging document, Laudermilk used a scalpel to “stab and castrate Rodriguez’s body as well as carry out additional abuses.”
The document says that an embalming student was present at the time. According to KPRC, an employee of the crematory where Rodriguez’s remains were being handled reported the incident. The embalming student said that she witnessed Laudermilk cut off his penis and stab him in the groin, telling her, “You didn’t see anything.”
Another employee said they noticed the penis in Rodriguez’s mouth as his body was about to put into the crematory equipment. Laudermilk quickly covered his groin with a towel and said he had “a lot going on with him.”
Memorial Mortuary and Crematory said Laudermilk was no longer employed there, saying that management reported the incident “as soon as we found out.”
Laudermilk surrendered on Tuesday, and the Texas Funeral Service Commission suspended her license.
