The Texas Funeral Commission suspended a Houston embalmer’s license after she desecrated a corpse in her care. The embalmer, Amber Laudermilk, 34, surrendered to authorities after fellow employees accused her of using a scalpel to cut off Charles Roy Rodriguez’s penis.
Laudermilk made this impulsive decision once she learned the deceased had been a registered sex offender. Authorities charged Laudermilk with felony abuse of a corpse for the incident that took place at the Memorial Mortuary and Crematory.
‘You didn’t see anything,’ Laudermilk reportedly told other employees.
According to KPRC, Laudermilk did not stop after the cutting. She reportedly placed the man’s dismembered penis in his mouth before he was cremated. At the time of the incident, Laudermilk was with an embalming student. She allegedly told the trainee, “You didn’t see anything,” First Alert 4 reports. Records show Laudermilk threatened other employees about discussing her actions.
Rodriguez, 58, died of natural causes at a Houston hospital in January 2025. The mortuary cremated him on February 7, the day of the alleged incident. Authorities charged Rodriguez with sexual assault in 2001. Investigators claim his charge involved an interaction with a woman at a bar. A judge gave him deferred adjudication and required him to register as a sex offender.
Laudermilk learned of Rodriguez’s past after the funeral director had a conversation with his family, KPRC reports. After they discussed splitting Rodriguez’s remains between his spouse and his daughter from a previous relationship, the family member disclosed his sex offender status.
Shortly after the phone call, employees reportedly saw Laudermilk cut off Rodriguez’s penis halfway and place it in his mouth. She also stabbed him twice with the scalpel in the groin area. Before Rodriguez’s body went into the cremation equipment, another employee saw Laudermilk cover his groin area with a towel, saying, he had “a lot going on with him.”
A constable hopes Laudermilk ‘gets the help she needs.’
“This is a vicious, brutal attack of a corpse. The person’s already dead,” Harris County Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen said. “When someone dies, there’s some dignity that should be left … It’s kind of shocking, even to me.”
Rosen also expressed his wishes for Laudermilk. “I don’t know the suspect’s past, but we have the utmost empathy for anyone who has been the victim of a sexual assault or is the family or friend of someone who has been the victim of a sexual assault,” he said. “The facts clearly indicate she was angry, and I hope after this is resolved in the courts, she gets the help she needs.”
Memorial Mortuary terminated Laudermilk from her position. Later, the Texas Funeral Service Commission suspended her license. She surrendered to the court, and a judge set her bond at $5,000. Her court date is scheduled for May 13.
Memorial Mortuary issued this statement about the incident. “We are deeply troubled and saddened by the unlawful and horrifying actions of this individual ex-employee. Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of the deceased … Memorial Mortuary will conduct continuing education for all its employees this week. Now, it’s a matter between law enforcement and the former employee.”
According to the Texas Criminal Defense Group, felony abuse of a corpse includes a penalty of six months to two years in state jail and a fine of up to $10,000.
