BUCHA, UKRAINE - APRIL 23: (EDITORS NOTE: Image contains graphic content) A corpse in a bodybag is pulled from a lorry, as a Ukrainian morgue overflows with victims who died during the Russian military presence in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukraine, on April 23, 2022. Ukrainian officials and volunteers are beginning the work of identifying the dead and gathering evidence for war crimes accusations, and say that more than 1,000 civilians lost their lives when Russian troops occupied districts northwest of the capital for weeks after a February 24 invasion. (Photo by Scott Peterson/Getty Images)
A crook got more than he bargained for when he stole a funeral home van in Illinois – complete with a body in tow – before separately ditching the car and dumping the corpse over 100 miles away in a Chicago alley.
The vehicle, which had initially contained the body of an unidentified man in the back, was stolen from Collins & Stone Funeral Home in Rockford on Saturday afternoon. That man’s name has not yet been released as of Tuesday.
The next day, last Monday, the van turned up in Chicago however by that time the corpse inside had already gone missing, according to a tweet by the Rockford Police Department.
It wasn’t until about a week later that “the body of the deceased man from the stolen van was located” in South Chicago, roughly a two-hour, 104 mile drive from where it was stolen.
Authorities say an anonymous 911 call alerted law enforcement to the body, which had been dumped in a back alley behind a block of abandoned homes, CBS News Chicago reports.
The body was uncovered, leading police to believe the corpse had been removed from the body bag it had been in prior to ditching it.
“The heck — they gone stole a body?” one shocked neighbor told the outlet, adding she felt “sorry” for the family of the dead man.
It remains unknown how the funeral home van was stolen in the first place, and whether or not the carjacker know a body would be in the back of the vehicle.
Meanwhile, Rockford police released images of a possible suspect, who was last seen in hoodie and all black clothing apart from white gloves.
No arrests have been made as of Tuesday, with an investigation into the crime ongoing.
