Police post video of woman taking toy duck from child's grave at Easter; soon a suspect is charged
An image from the video released
by the Ontario Police.
Updated: After toys left on a child’s grave in Ohio repeatedly disappeared, police in Ontario put up a hidden camera.
Over the Easter weekend, it captured images of a woman taking a stuffed yellow duck that had been placed on the grave of Hayden “Tank” Cole Sheridan hours earlier. He died in 2007 when he was 14 months old, after being born prematurely, according to a WKYC article and accompanying video report.
Ontario police posted a video clip on the department’s Facebook page and asked for the public’s help. By Wednesday, Frieda Kay Shade, 54, had been identified as a suspect turned herself in that evening. She was charged with misdemeanor theft, reports the Mansfield News Journal.
“The video is there, we’re not denying that. But video evidence does not show what a person is thinking. There are mitigating circumstances,” said her attorney, Charles Robinson. Shade told police she had taken the stuffed duck to prevent it from being destroyed by a dog running loose, the newspaper reports. She will plead not guilty.
Meanwhile, the duck was also returned after being laundered, according to the newspaper and WKYC.
“Someone apparently saw their self on Facebook and returned to throw the stuffed animal out the window of a vehicle along the cemetery property,” said Detective John Sigler.
Hat tip: New York Daily News
Updated on April 25 to include new information from revised newspaper article.
