Drunk Las Vegas Woman Snatched Casket, Dumped Body Outside Funeral Home, Cops Say

A Las Vegas woman who allegedly stole a casket with a body inside and dumped it outside a funeral home told police she had "blacked out from drinking six beers."

Patricia Sierra, 47, has been charged with burglary, grand larceny, and disturbing human remains in connection with the break-in at the Affordable Cremation and Burial Service funeral home last month.

According to an arrest report obtained by USA Today, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department received a call at around 3 a.m. on Aug. 27 reporting a suspicious person lying face down in front of the funeral home, as well as a casket, and the caller said the funeral home appeared to have been broken into.

Officers arrived to find the casket on a cart on the sidewalk near the funeral home.

The body was lying face down on rocks near the funeral home's front walkway. A door was open, with broken glass inside the funeral home.

Investigators learned the body belonged to an individual whose viewing took place at the funeral home on Aug. 26.

Surveillance video allegedly showed a woman breaking a front window and reaching inside to unlock the front door. The woman carted the casket out of the funeral home, and made multiple trips in and out of the building.

While officers were investigating, a construction worker nearby reported seeing the woman holding flowers outside the funeral home on the day of the incident.

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On Aug. 29, a 911 caller reported seeing the woman who stole the casket inside a 7-Eleven convenience store, wearing the same clothing as seen in the surveillance video. Sierra was taken into custody by responding officers.

When investigators showed her the surveillance video, Sierra allegedly said she has a substance abuse problem that causes her to black out. Sierra allegedly appeared apologetic, claiming she was only drunk after drinking six beers and did not mean to steal the casket maliciously.

TMX contributed to this report.