A Houston embalmer has been charged with abuse of a corpse after allegedly stabbing and castrating the body of a deceased registered sex offender.
In February 2025, 34-year-old Amber Paige Laudermilk, an embalmer at Claire Brothers Funeral Home, allegedly mutilated the body of 58-year-old Charles Roy Rodriguez, who died of natural causes in January, Spectrum Local News reported.
Rodriguez had been a registered sex offender since 2001, when he was charged with sexual assault and received 10 years of deferred adjudication. The Texas Funeral Service Commission referred the case to law enforcement after learning of the incident.
Laudermilk used a scalpel to stab and castrate Rodriguez's corpse while an embalming student was present, according to a report. She allegedly instructed employees to remain silent about the attack, leaving some too afraid to report it.
Harris County officials charged her with abuse of a corpse, a felony offense in Texas. Constable Alan Rosen described the case as one involving "two troubled people" but emphasized that the law requires the deceased to be treated with dignity.
Laudermilk has not yet been arrested, but authorities are investigating the act.
