Terry Kurtzhals Impersonated Funeral Director To Steal Engagement Rings: Cops

It's always tacky when a disappointed groom wants his engagement ring back, especially if he has to pry it off the bride's cold, dead hands.

A Nebraska man has been accused of pretending to be an undertaker in order to get rings from his deceased fiancee, the Associated Press reported.

Police say that about two weeks ago, Terry Kurtzhals, 58, showed up at Wadlow Rozanke Funeral Home wearing a funeral director name tag, and said he represented the family of a Jessica Johnson, 34, who died on Nov. 20, according to a Lincoln police brief.

Kurtzhals allegedly asked Rod Rozanek, the funeral home's owner, for Johnson's two engagement rings, which were valued at about $500.

Rozanek said he began to suspect Kurtzhals was a fake when he became agitated answering questions about his work. Another employee contacted police.

Officer Katie Flood said that Kurtzhals had been engaged to Johnson, according to the police brief.

Investigators also discovered that he had actually once been a legitimate funeral director. However, he lost his license in 1996 when he was accused of mishandling clients' money and ended up going to prison on theft charges, MSNBC reported.

The man was taken into custody on charges of impersonating a funeral director, but is now also facing illegal voting charges.

Kurtzhals had been released from prison in January, where he had served time for the felony charge of possession of burglar's tools. County records indicate that he voted this Election Day, but state law prohibits a felon from voting for two years after his or her release.