Employees steal tooth gold in crematorium

Employees steal toothpaste in crematorium: Four men will last for years „Disturbance of the dead peace“ accused

18/06/2013

Theft in the crematorium: In the Palatine Landau four men over several years have stolen tooth gold from the ashes of the dead. Now the prosecutor's office investigates in the case - the charge: theft and disturbance of the dead rest.

During a house search one kilogram of gold discovered
According to the state prosecutor Landau four men were accused in the privately run since 1996 Landau crematorium, for years systematically the tooth gold from the ashes of the dead sifted and stolen - so was a search of the living space of one of the suspects one kilogram of gold worth about 30,000 euros have been found, as the spokesman for the prosecutor in Landau opposite the „dpa“ announced. Thereupon, according to the manager of the crematorium, Joachim Reber, immediate action was taken by the employee having received his immediate termination.

No clear regulation on who is legally entitled to the residues
The crematorium had become aware of the actions of the men through an anonymous advertisement from the past year. The difficulty with such a case, however, is that it is not legally clear in this country, who are entitled to the residues that remain when sieving the ash. This is not just about value, because „These are not only gold teeth, but also, for example, artificial hip joints or screws, "says Managing Director Reber „dpa“. In some cases, relatives would claim these things, but due to the "legal gray area", the crematorium would not hand them over - instead, according to Reber, the waste would be recycled in a Dutch company and the money raised would be donated to a charitable institution.

Crematorium tightened security measures
According to the prosecution, none of the suspects had previously commented on the allegations of tooth theft, adding that only one employee had found gold. To avoid such cases in the future, the crematorium has now upgraded and installed a surveillance camera, in addition, the ash containers would be sealed in the future - in this cool the remaining remains of corpse and coffin after combustion from before they are finally filled into the urn.

Heirs have one „right of appropriation“
Due to the difficult legal situation, there are always disputes about the coveted precious metal, because, according to lawyer dr. Oliver Kautz will also join „Earth burials after the lay time the graves dug out, so that tooth gold or wedding rings can come to light again“ - Then again the question would come up, to whom the valuables are entitled. According to Kautz, there would still be considerable need for regulation here, and experts would therefore already be required to have a legal regulation. Until that happens, could „Relatives by instructions to the Undertaker or crematorium to prevent a sale of Granny's teeth“, so the recommendation of the lawyer. Because the heirs have a so-called „right of appropriation“, which „with the consent of relatives as a caretaker.“ A sign of integrity was therefore, according to Dr. Oliver Kautz that funeral home companies support relatives in this matter. (No)

Image: Paul-Georg Meister