A woman dubbed the “Obit Bandit” who robbed the homes of families at funerals was sentenced to 11 to 13 years in prison Monday.
Latonia Stewart, 30, of the Bronx, New York City, was convicted last month on six counts of burglary and possession of stolen property. She used online obituaries to determine when people would be away from their homes and then would break in to steal jewelry and other valuables. Stewart faced up to 90 years behind bars, as each charge carried up to 15-year sentences.
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Stewart committed the burglaries between December 2017 and May 2018 in counties in New York and Connecticut. Police nabbed her after staking out the home of someone who had recently died and, upon inspection, found that she had stolen jewelry in her car and the resident’s obituary open on her cellphone.
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“It is absolutely appalling that people mourning the loss of a loved one were specifically targeted and taken advantage of in such a cruel and heinous manner,” said Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah when Stewart was convicted. “I commend the great work of my team, the Greenburgh Police Department, and the other law enforcement partners who handled this case, and I hope that this verdict brings some measure of comfort to the victims.”
