A South Carolina man broke into his ex-girlfriend's home and stole her mother's cremated remains with the intention to sell them for money to purchase heroin, according to deputies.
Jackson Rutland, 19, contacted his ex around 5:40 a.m. on Wednesday to inform her he had taken some of her mother's ashes. The ex was not home at the time, as she had spent the night at a friend's house.
When the woman returned home, she noticed the back door had been kicked in and the home was ransacked.
She told police her mother's remains had been tampered with and that some were spread on the floor, according to an arrest warrant.
Rutland had planned to sell the ashes to pay for heroin, the warrant stated, although how he expected to sell them is unclear.
He was arrested around 11 p.m. Thursday and booked into Aiken County jail, FOX Carolina reported.
The man faces charges of destruction, desecration or removal of human remains as well as burglary, according to jail records.
SOUTH CAROLINA MAN ARRESTED FOR TRIPLE HOMICIDE OF FAMILY MEMBERS, INCLUDING COUNCILMEMBER
"I’ve never heard of anything like that," Aiken County Sheriff's Capt. Eric Abdullah told reporters.
