Former Glenwood cemetery employee charged with stealing over $114K in funeral expenses payments
A former cemetery employee has been charged after an investigation found she secretly pocketed over $114,000 in funeral expenses payments, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart announced Saturday.
Latrecia Marshall-Parris, 48, of Harvey, Illinois, was charged with two counts of continuing a financial crime enterprise and two counts of theft.
Sheriff's detectives launched an investigation after staff at Mount Glenwood Memory Gardens cemetery reported in August 2023 that one of their Marshall-Parris had taken a cash amount from a family for a headstone, but then deposited a lesser amount in the cemetery's account.
Marshall-Parris had worked with families in planning funerals, including assisting them with purchasing headstones, which were often paid for in cash. She was fired from her position.
The investigation determined that Marshall-Parris took a portion of families' funeral payments 49 times from April 2022 to August 2023. Over $114,200 was taken.
An arrest warrant was issued last month for Marshall-Parris, and she was taken into custody on Wednesday by Harvey Police and turned over to the sheriff's police custody.
She appeared in court on Friday at the Markham Courthouse, where she was ordered released from custody pending trial.
