Bizarre, Criminal law

New Jersey Florist Captured on Film Removing Flowers From Graves

lynda-wingateWe have periodically discussed crimes involving grave robbing and how to punish such heinous acts.  The latest such case is out of New Jersey where flowers were being taken from the First Reformed Church Cemetery in Pompton Plains and authorities decided to set up a surveillance camera.  Police say that the camera captured Lynda Wingate, 59, in the act.  She turns out to be a former police dispatcher and the owner of a floral shop.

Police say that Wingate may have been stealing flowers for months before they set up the camera.  [NY] Raw Footage: Surveillance Cameras Capture Cemetery Flower Thiefflower

Wingate reportedly claimed that she was cleaned up old flowers from graves of people she knew but police say that is untrue.

She now faces a charge of theft of moveable property.

What do you think should be the punishment for this crime?  The public identification alone carries considerable stigma, though it is interesting that police in the prior Christmas wreath thefts from the Sunshine Farm in Massachusetts kept the identity of the thief out of the public.  If found guilty, do you think that jail time is appropriate given the trauma for family in having flowers removed from a grave or simply community service?

25 thoughts on “New Jersey Florist Captured on Film Removing Flowers From Graves”

  1. I think she should be condemned to making believe she is a flower. A wall flower.

    Is this what the sub-mental authorities call chasing crime?

  2. I know the feeling. A bronze vase CHAINED TO THE HEADSTONE was stolen from my grandfather’s grave.

    It’s stories like this that make you pine for Sharia Law. C’mon admit it …

  3. Old testament said if someone steals food (food was harder to grow,hunt in those days), you have to pay seven times the cost of the food. One dollar for everyday the person lived and enriched their loved ones life with a minimun fee per theft. After a maximum amount, the community service is she has to dig a grave with a hand shovel, at a rate equal for a fifty-nine year old woman.

  4. Oh, that is so sad. What a failure of character. I do not know what her criminal punishment should be, perhaps some sort of restitution to the families and lengthy community service. Her crime did more than steal the dollar amount of the flowers; she hurt grieving members of the community. Most of us cringe at such an act.

  6. Keep those NJ cemetery cameras rolling in the election season to catch the proxy voters . Grandma had a strong cemetery turnout NJ .😉

  7. There is a thief who takes flowers from my father’s grave. My 82 year old mom bought a concrete bench for the graveside so she could sit and refresh the flowers and remember her longtime soulmate. Somebody stole the bench. These kinds of crimes are egregious, not because of any monetary damage, but because of the emotional pain and inconvenience they cause to others.

    I think restitution is a proper punishment here. If she owns a floral shop, then for an entire year, she should be made to provide fresh flowers to anybody asking for some to put on a grave in that cemetery.

  8. We need a law-and-order president. That’ll definitely stop things like this.

  9. Simple. For the same amount of time she engaged in taking flowers that did not belong to her from graves, she should devote some % of her income to putting them back on the same graves to the best of her memory from her own flower shop.

    If no one comes to her shop, she should take the last of her stock and distribute it to the graves with silent apologies to those who no longer care, as well as to their families who do.

  10. If you printed her photo on rolls of toilet paper then no one would wipe.

  11. If she took the flowers off my father’s grave then I would go to her shop and cut a huge fart. Later come and burnt the shop down.

  12. Is she supposedly re-using the flowers? The article does not seem to say. If she is not re-purposing the flowers, then I am not sure what the specific crime is.

  14. Strangely, this story does not surprise me. The only question is, what should be done with her??? I suggest this would be appropriate—

    Six Feet Under The Jail???
    An Irish Poem by Squeeky Fromm

    There once was a florist sooo cheap!
    That the flowers from graves she would sweep,
    To sell in her shop,
    Plus, she once was a cop!
    My goodness! But she was a creep!

    Squeeky Fromm
    Girl Reporter

  15. “Where have all the flowers gone….long time passing? “Young girls have picked them everyone….”

    Maybe she is just a flower child…

  16. Aaay! Leave mya people alone . The cemetery justa throw it out anyaway. Forgettabout it ; Capisce?

  17. Hey if she’s here illegally she won’t have a thing to worry about. Wonder if Pompton Plains is a sanctuary city?

  18. Reblogged this on TLC's WordPress Blog and commented:
    More interesting as a “Sign Of The Times”. Notwithstanding the bogus government statistics and the corporate media, is the economy really so far in the dumpster that this is the only way she could keep her business afloat?

    And what does it say about morality in America? The elites lie, cheat and steal, but almost never are prosecuted, let along find themselves incarcerated. Corporations murder with regularity, pollution and especially the Pharmaceutical Drug Cartel, but rather than real consequences they just give a small part of their profits as a kickback to the government.

  19. More interesting as a “Sign Of The Times”. Notwithstanding the bogus government statistics and the corporate media, is the economy really so far in the dumpster that this is the only way she could keep her business afloat?

    And what does it say about morality in America? The elites lie, cheat and steal, but almost never are prosecuted, let along find themselves incarcerated. Corporations murder with regularity, pollution and especially the Pharmaceutical Drug Cartel, but rather than real consequences they just give a small part of their profits as a kickback to the government.

    1. Indeed! As much as we hate stealing, this is more of a summary of the economy. And very pitiful.

      1. Don’t forget that “taxes” to our criminal government account for more than 50% of what most people bring in. It is very well hidden in the US. We all pay over 100 taxes believe it or not.

  20. For theft of flowers? Depends on their value.
    No Mr Turley you are not going to get me frothing at the mouth and demanding her head.
    Let those clowns talk for themselves….

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