A hospital security guard in Arizona was allegedly caught by his co-workers having sex with the corpse of a 79-year-old woman in the facility’s morgue.
Randall Bird, 46, has been accused of necrophilia by the Phoenix Police Department after they arrived at the Banner University Medical Center Phoenix in response to a call involving the “suspected misconduct involving a man” on 24th October.
The suspect’s duties involved transporting dead bodies to a freezer in the hospital morgue, with two witnesses saying that they saw Bird with the unnamed woman’s corpse in the morgue freezer.
The unnamed witnesses told the cops that Bird was “sweating profusely” and “acting very nervous”. They also said that his flies were undone and that his uniform was “messy”.
The police said that the corpse was face down, with Bird’s belt on top of a gurney used to transport it.
Bird claimed that he had felt unwell and had fainted and had grabbed the body bag as he fell, accidentally ripping it open.
He said that he had accidentally broken the zip and the bag in the process.
The witnesses told a supervisor that neither the bag nor the zipper was broken.
An investigation revealed that the woman’s corpse showed signs of trauma and tested positive for the security guard’s DNA, which had been collected by the police on 25th October.
The hospital said in a statement to local media: “We are saddened and appalled by the alleged actions of an individual at Banner–University Medical Center Phoenix that resulted in his arrest on November 28, 2023.”
The hospital also said: “Recently, Banner team members identified and reported concerning behavior of an employee in the hospital morgue. Banner initiated an internal investigation, filed a report with law enforcement and terminated the employee.
“Banner Health has and remains committed to high standards that require each of our team members to treat everyone, at every stage of life, with compassion, dignity, and respect.”
“Out of respect for the family, we will not further comment at this time.”
Following the investigation, Bird was arrested on Tuesday and was released on bail, according to local media.
The investigation is ongoing.
