Woman accused of stealing over 30 floral arrangements from graves

DEKALB COUNTY, Ala. ( WHNT ) — A woman who authorities say stole multiple Decoration Day floral arrangements has been arrested.

DeKalb County Sheriff Nick Welden stated that on Saturday, May 18, investigators arrested 69-year-old Martha Jane Bowes. She was charged with fourth-degree Theft of Property and Desecration of a Gravesite.

On Thursday, May 16, the office received a report that Decoration Day flowers from a family gravesite at Painter Liberty Baptist Cemetery had been stolen. The victim of the theft recently had other things stolen from the same gravesite and had cameras installed.

Welden said that on the morning of May 16, the cameras caught a woman stealing two handmade floral arrangements from a headstone. Later that day, investigators identified Bowes as the suspect.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) issued a search warrant for Bowes’s home in Hammondville on Friday, May 17. With the help of Valley Head and Mentone Police Departments, the victim’s floral arrangements were recovered and returned. Deputies also discovered 31 other floral decoration arrangements at her home.

On Saturday, May 18, an investigator spoke with Bowes in an attempt to have her turn herself in. She told law enforcement she was in Mississippi and would not be in DeKalb County until Wednesday. Investigators then received information that Bowes was actually in Fort Payne and not in Mississippi, as she had said.

Around 7 p.m. that day, Weldon said that deputies went to a home in Fort Payne and arrested Bowes. She was then transported to DeKalb County Detention Center on the two charges as well as two outstanding failure to appear warrants with the Sheriff’s Office.

Photos of the recovered floral decorations are shown below.

If you have been a victim of a similar theft and have proof that one of the arrangements pictured above is yours, you can contact the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office from 8 a.m. through 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

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