Alleged tomb-raiding trio arrested in cross-country cemetery spree 'to steal from the dead,' police say
Three Indiana residents face charges in what Florida authorities describe as a sweeping, multistate theft ring targeting cremation niches at mausoleums, with law enforcement urging families across the country to check on their loved ones' final resting places.
The Orange County Sheriff's Office in Florida announced that Drake Lee Milam, 33, and Angela Garrett, 52, were arrested in Indiana, while Porsche Bancroft, 32, turned herself in at the Seminole County Jail in Florida. Court records identify Bancroft as Milam's girlfriend and Garrett's daughter.
All three are accused of breaking into glass-front niches that hold cremated remains, urns, and personal mementos, then stealing jewelry and other valuables left by relatives. Detectives have identified 20 cases in Florida alone, across Orange, Seminole, and Hillsborough counties, where the total value of stolen items reaches $35,000. Authorities say the actual number of victims is likely far higher.
"This will not stand. Not in Florida," a sheriff's office spokesperson declared, emphasizing the emotional toll of the crimes. "Having a loved one's final resting place disturbed and cherished family heirlooms taken is deeply painful, and we recognize that no arrest can undo what these families have experienced."
Mausoleum surveillance footage allegedly shows the trio shattering niche fronts, removing items, and walking out. The investigation has linked their activities to a wide swath of the eastern United States, including Oklahoma City, Texas, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Georgia, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, and Florida.
The stolen objects carry deep personal meaning for the families who reported them. One husband said his late wife's niche was missing their matching gold wedding rings along with her silver-and-blue class ring from Miami Southridge Senior High's Class of 1992. Another wife reported the theft of a ring given to her late husband for his 25th anniversary with The Walt Disney Company. A father told police his daughter's 1972 class ring with a blue stone was gone. One widow said her late husband had specifically asked to be interred with a 22-inch gold chain and gold anchor, both of which were taken. Another family reported that jewelry placed with a beloved wife and mother, including a gold wedding band, two gold earrings, two gold rings, and a gold bracelet, had vanished.
Among the most high-profile victims: the family of Charles Taaffe, the former offensive coordinator for the University of Central Florida football team, whose two gold championship rings were stolen from his niche.
The charges against all three defendants include injuring or removing a tomb or monument, disturbing the contents of a grave or tomb, and grand theft over $20,000. Bancroft is scheduled for arraignment on September 22 in Sanford, Florida, with a trial date set for February 8. Milam and Garrett are expected to be extradited to Florida, though their court documents were not immediately available through the Seminole County Clerk of Court's office.
"What a horrible person you are if you decide to steal from the dead," a sheriff's office spokesman said in a public video. "These three people are going to cemeteries, breaking into deceased people's niches, and stealing their family heirlooms."
Detectives are continuing to search for additional victims. The sheriff's office has asked anyone with a family member interred at a cemetery to check on their loved one's niche, and urged anyone with information, or who believes they may have been targeted, to contact Central Florida Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS (8477).
Bancroft told media outlets that her attorney would provide a statement, but none was received before publication. Milam and Garrett did not respond to requests for comment.
