Ill. man gets 2 years for taking rings off corpse

[July 08, 2011]  WHEATON (AP) -- A former Illinois hospital worker who stole engagement and wedding rings off the fingers of a deceased patient and pawned them to pay his cable bill has been sentenced to two years in prison.

Frederick Tapley pleaded guilty to felony theft for taking the rings from a 72-year-old woman who died of cancer last year at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, a Chicago suburb.

Tapley's attorney sought probation for the 37-year-old Romeoville man, who told police he was overwhelmed by financial problems. The rings were valued at more than $3,000. Tapley pawned them for $200.

DuPage County Circuit Judge Daniel Guerin rejected the request, noting Thursday that Tapley had been convicted of a similar theft at an Oak Park hospital a decade ago.

[Associated Press]

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