Police are trying to figure out who broke into crematory in Akron, Ohio and then tried to cremate a body.
According to authorities, the break-in happened sometime between 4:30 p.m. Tuesday and 7 a.m. Wednesday.
According to the business owner, Martin Ebie, the intruder or intruders climbed through a window.
Pictures were knocked off the walls, a work bench was rummaged through and a dolly was tipped over, Ebie said.
But it's what happened in the crematory area that was most disturbing.
When workers arrived Wednesday morning they found the corpse laying on the floor in the crematory.
According to Ebie, the body had been in a cardboard cremation container the night before. Somone attempted to push the box into the oven, but the body toppled out and onto the floor.
Ebie has been in business since 1976, and he said nothing like this has ever happened.
“Somebody is sick out there,” Ebie said. “I can’t understand who or what or why. I’m at a loss.”
According to the police report, the suspect broke a lock on a rear door and exited through the back of the building.
"It's hard to believe. It's like a funeral home or a cemetery. Why would somebody try to break in and do something to somebody that's already dead?" said Lt. Rick Edwards.
Ebie said he plans to install glass blocks and a security system because of the crime.
The body was later properly cremated, Ebie said.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact the Akron Police Department at 330-375-2552.
Last August, a woman walking in East Akron Cemetery found a mausoleum broken into and the remains of a man dumped from a casket and onto the floor.
Edwards said it's hard to determine if the two cases are connected.
