Ex-hospital worker admits stealing ring off body

Frederick Tapley needed to pay his cable bill, so he swiped jewelry from a deceased cancer patient and pawned it, he admitted in court Wednesday.

The 37-year-old Romeoville man pleaded guilty to felony theft stemming from his July 28 arrest on charges he stole a wedding ring off the finger of a deceased Lombard woman while working at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove.

The theft came to light after the victim’s daughter came from out of state for her mother’s funeral and viewed her body, DuPage County Prosecutor Mary Cronin said.

When interviewed by police, Tapley “admitted he took the ring off the deceased body — and pawned it and used the money to pay his cable bill,” Cronin told Judge Daniel Guerin.

Tapley declined to comment outside of court.

The 72-year-old victim, who died in early July, was married for 53 years before her husband died in 2001.

Tapley, who took the ring while the woman’s body was being moved to the morgue, confessed he sold it to a Lansing pawn store, police said, where the shopkeeper was prepared to melt down the gold. Officers said they recovered the stolen jewelry, valued at $3,500.

Tapley faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty without a sentencing agreement. The offense also is punishable by probation or conditional discharge, the judge said.

Tapley no longer is employed at the hospital. He was placed on court supervision for a similar offense in 2001 when convicted of misdemeanor theft for swiping credit cards from two patients at West suburban Hospital in Oak Park, according to Cook County court records.

He returns to DuPage County court April 26.