A day after family members laid Lois Hicks to rest, the suspect accused of stealing a ring from her finger at the funeral home was arrested.
Lois Hicks, 88, died April 7. As she lay in an Odessa funeral home, minutes after family members left her side, an unidentified woman walked into the room. The woman was seen stealing a ring off of Hicks’ finger in what her granddaughter Robin Bennet called a “horrible and evil thing do to.“
The video of the jewelry heist was shared thousands of times on social media.
“Really just shock and disbelief,” said Brandi Carrasco, another of Hicks’ granddaughters. “That’s pretty much the way that the whole family felt. We couldn’t believe this could happen.”
“you see things going viral every day but you don’t imagine for one minute that it’s going to be something that’s affecting your life, much less such a sorrowful occasion as a funeral, and someone’s passing,” Carrasco said. “This was a sick disgusting act that was committed.”
That woman was later identified as Kalynn Homfeld. Homfeld was arrested and charged with Theft From A Human Corpse, a “State Jail Felony.”
“We’re very saddened for this young woman. She’s in a very troubled place. We’re going to continue to pray for her, and hope that she will take this opportunity, which is what it is, to turn her life around,” Carrasco said of Homfeld’s arrest.
Hicks, a mother of 10, turned 88 in February. Her family received an outpouring of support after the video went viral.
“The response has been overwhelmingly positive, people are very supportive, they’re willing to help, they’re giving us tips, and constantly looking and searching,” she said.
“Yes it was a terrible ordeal, yes it was a very sad time for all of us, but we as a family are coming together and hoping that this lady will turn things around,” Carrasco added.
