After stealing into a funeral director’s shop and searching through dead bodies for jewelry, a vile ghoul was sentenced to prison.
Twisted During the robbery at the Chapel of Rest in Barnstaple, Devon, Marc Griffin, 42, unlocked coffins, read personal notes, and left the mortuary’s refrigerators open.
He opened body bags to hunt for jewelry on the bodies of two women, and rummaged through garments that the deceased were supposed to wear for their funerals the next day.
He also ransacked the Padfields Funeral Service, leaving a bloody path across the floor.
Who is Marc Griffin?
Griffin, who was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison, also stole the keys to one of their hearses during the raid.
When the families of the deceased were informed of the intrusion just hours before their loved ones’ burial, they were shocked.
A 99-year-old former World War II servicewoman, a 90-year-old grandfather, and a 94-year-old great-grandmother were among the dead.
“It is difficult to explain the extent of my anger and upset, which has worsened our family’s grief,” their families stated in victim impact statements.
“My mother was in a situation where she should have felt protected and secure.
“I was terrified that someone had broken into the house and disturbed Mum.” The fact that she has been abused in this way has destroyed the entire family.
“We have been robbed of the chance to remember and grieve and it has magnified the trauma of her death.”
Another relative said: “The thought of someone opening the fridge and searching for items of jewellery has left us sickened and upset.
“Our family are deeply shocked and horrified that the sanctuary of the funeral directors has been violated.”
Griffin broke into the shop during a half-hour crime spree in the early hours of March 13 – in which he also burgled a café and a hair salon, stealing a till and charity boxes.
He has a long criminal record with 60 previous burglaries or attempts.
Drug addict Griffin, 42, of Barnstaple, admitted three commercial burglaries and was jailed for two years and seven months by Judge Paul Cook at Exeter Crown Court.
He told him: “In the past, you have stolen from the living. On this occasion, you set out to steal from the deceased.
“You demonstrated a total indifference to their dignity and to the pain distress and horror which you inevitably caused to their loved ones.
“They say you robbed them of their chance to grieve and magnified their trauma many times over.”
