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No Federal Charges in Theft of Man's Ashes

Posted on: Thursday, 23 December 2004, 12:00 CST

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. - A woman accused of digging up and taking her boyfriend's cremated remains more than a decade ago - and drinking the beer that had been buried with them - won't face federal charges, a prosecutor says.

Sheboygan County District Attorney Joe De Cecco said Karen Stolzmann, 44, faces only a misdemeanor charge of possession of stolen property, punishable by up to nine months in jail and a $10,000 fine.

Stolzmann has been accused of digging up the remains of Michael Hendrickson from the Cambria Cemetery in Columbia County and drinking the beer that also had been buried, possibly out of spite for his family.

Hendrickson was 27 when he died in 1992 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His relatives contacted authorities this fall because they found out his remains had been stolen.

An exhumation discovered that Hendrickson's cremated remains were missing from the cemetery. Beer and cigarettes that were buried with him were also missing.

Investigators looked into the matter and were led to Stolzmann, who had lived with Hendrickson though both were married to other people, and who was with Hendrickson when he shot himself.

Detectives searched Stolzmann's Sheboygan home, found her hiding in the shower and located the remains in her garage, authorities said.

De Cecco said a six-year statute of limitations prevented Stolzmann from being charged with a federal crime of stealing the cremated remains. He said it's also a federal crime to take a body out of a state without permission, which may have applied because Stolzmann had lived in Texas for a time, but the law did not apply because the body had been cremated.

As a result, he said he decided to pursue the misdemeanor charge, which he said could go to trial in February.

"I learned more about funeral homes and cemeteries than I ever wanted to know," he said.

De Cecco said the story has attracted widespread attention, and he has received calls from as far away as Vermont.

"The story is just bizarre," he said.

It appears Stolzmann went to the grave site a few months after the burial in 1992 and dug up the remains. Relatives of Hendrickson had visited the grave later without realizing the remains were gone, he said.

"The dad said, 'I noticed the dirt was down and just thought it was settling after the burial,'" De Cecco said.

Stolzmann is due in court Jan. 6 for a plea hearing, according to court records.

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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