Jail For 'Despicable' Funeral Home Burglar

1 February 2019, 17:14 | Updated: 1 February 2019, 17:18

A burglar described by a judge as "despicable" after carrying out sex acts at a funeral parlour has been jailed for six years.

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A "despicable" burglar who had sex with a corpse at a funeral parlour while high on drink and drugs has been jailed for six years.

Kasim Khuram carried out a "gratuitous" crime by disturbing three bodies and a total of nine coffins during a break-in, a Birmingham Crown Court judge told him on Friday.

Sentencing, Judge Melbourne Inman QC said: "The offences you have committed offend all human sensibility.

"I am not aware of, nor have I been able to find a similar case."

He added: "It would be difficult to think of a greater deprivation of the dignity of the dead, other than that which you did."

Khuram, of Kenilworth Road, Aston, Birmingham, previously pleaded guilty to sexual penetration of a body at the Central England Co-operative Funeralcare home in Walsall Road, in the city's Great Barr area, on November 11.

The identity of the victim of the assault cannot be revealed for legal reasons but the court heard it was a woman, while another female was left "exposed".

Tests revealed DNA belonging to the 23-year-old had been found on the victim's body, the court heard.

Khuram previously admitted burglary of the funeral home, breaking in with the intention of stealing.

A judge heard Khuram had been drinking vodka, and was high on Mamba and PCP when he kicked his way through the front door,

Inside, he went through the office, making his way to the mortuary area of the building where there were nine bodies in coffins, one of which contained a baby, the court heard.

Khuram desecrated two women's bodies, disturbing the coffins of the others, including leaving a lid resting on the head of a deceased male.

Opening the case, Robert Price, for the Crown, said: "In the early hours of Sunday November 11, an alarm was activated at a Co-op funeral home in Great Barr on the outskirts of Birmingham.

"Police arrived and saw a wooden panel in the front door had been kicked through.

"They realised the defendant was inside. Eventually he came out - the police were waiting, and arrested him."

He added: "The funeral home has three separate chapels of rest, nine bodies were present within the home at the time of the intrusion."

The family of the victim of the sexual assault had been to the home earlier in the day, to drop off some personal effects, and the lid of the coffin had been left off.

Mr Price added: "Investigations revealed that at least three coffins and bodies had been disturbed and the lids removed in relation to the others.

"A funeral urn containing ashes had also been moved."

He described how a member of staff was called to the premises at 1.40am, and inside found that the victim of the assault "had been removed from the coffin and was now on her back on the floor of the chapel".

Mr Price said: "The coffin had been propped up against the wall.

"The coffin containing a male body had also been lifted and the lid left lying at a slant resting on the head of the (male's) body.

"The body of another female had been turned over inside her coffin and was lying face down.

"Her lower clothes had been pulled down to her ankles, exposing her."

He added: "The coffin of the victim of the assault had been interfered with and she was lying on the chapel of rest floor, on her back, the coffin propped against the wall."

The judge heard how every coffin lid had been "disturbed", either having been "opened or slid".

Judge Inman told him: "You set about disturbing all nine of these bodies - exactly what you did, and why, only you know.

"One of the bodies at rest, a mere baby's."

He added: "Chapels of rest hold a significant importance for society, they are where the physical remains of our loved ones are put at rest and we all have complete confidence they are then at complete safety from the ills of the world.

"The violation of that sanctity destroys whatever peace anyone can find while grieving for the loss of a loved one.

"The mere fact their peace was disturbed, even if not directly, had a chilling and profound effect on the families - one family even mourning a baby.

"Their grief is terrible to hear - as terrible to listen to, as it is to imagine."

On arrest, outside the funeral home, Khuram told police "I bet you think I've been shagging them, don't you?" and made further lewd sexual remarks in interview.

The court heard Khuram, who appeared in custody in court flanked by a security officer, was sectioned for two weeks after being interviewed, after showing signs of "drug-induced psychosis".

Defence barrister Joseph Keating said Khuram, who had previous convictions for criminal damage, drugs possession and carrying a knife, was "deeply sorry" for his actions, which were "out of character".

He wept as the victim impact statements from the families were read out and kept his head turned away from the nearby relatives of the deceased, throughout the hearing.

The families of the victims described Khuram as a "monster" whose actions were "abhorrent" and had "twisted a knife" in their hearts.