LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic online) - The body of the father - 93-year-old Clarence Bight, was stolen from Gethsemane Cemetery, coffin included and was discovered stuffed in a new freezer in the 48-year-old son's basement, according to Detroit police.

The son had reportedly told family members that he stole his father's body from Gethsemane Cemetery on the city's east side this week to resurrect him through prayer, the source said.

Bright's funeral was this past weekend. His body was being held in the cemetery's mausoleum because the ground was too wet for burial, according to investigators. Witnesses had seen a white van pull up outside the mausoleum just before the man and his casket went missing on Monday.

The office manager of Gethsemane Cemetery declined comment to newspaper reporters.

Investigators had searched the son's home, but didn't find the man or the casket. The new freezer had been empty in the backyard Monday, the source said.

A Detroit Police officer on patrol the following day spotted the van at a gas station on the city's east side, with the son and another man inside, along with the empty casket. The men were taken into custody.

When police returned to the man's home, they found the body, Detroit Police Sgt. Eren Stephens said.

The incident recalls the notorious case of necrophile embalmer Karen Greenlee, who was arrested after she stole the corpse of a young man in California. A detailed letter she wrote explaining her several episodes was brought against her in court. For stealing the body and the hearse, Greenlee got eleven days in jail, a $255 fine, and was placed on two years probation with medical treatment recommended. The mother of the dead man sued, asking for $1 million, but settled for $117, 000 in general and punitive damages.

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