A hospital security guard in Memphis, Tennessee, is facing charges after two witnesses accused him of sexually assaulting a corpse in the body storage room.
Cameron Wright, 23, was arrested Wednesday after he was allegedly caught in the act by employees at St. Francis Hospital, according to local station WREG TV.
Wright admitted to the crime, according to court documents. He has since been booked into the Shelby County Jail on one charge of abuse of a corpse, WMC TV reports.
The body he is accused of abusing belonged to April Parham, a 37-year-old kindergarten teacher who died early Wednesday morning of a heart attack.
Her father, James Parham, told WMC that he is struggling to face the tragic events. “I’m not only dealing with her death,” he said, “I’m dealing with this and it’s not fair.”
St. Francis Hospital said that Wright worked there as a guard but was employed through a contractor, U.S. Security Associates. Hospital officials released this statement about the incident:
Treating those we serve with dignity and respect is our top priority. The behavior of this individual does not represent what our hospital stands for, and these actions are completely unacceptable.
We are saddened by this incident, and we are empathic and sympathetic to the family of the patient. We contract with U.S. Security Associates for our hospital’s security services, and all officers are required to undergo thorough background checks. The security guard involved in this situation has been terminated.”
U.S. Security Associates told WREG that Wright was “thoroughly screened” before being hired:
We thoroughly screened the background of the officer involved in the incident; this officer also went through training necessary to work at the hospital. There was no criminal history in this officer’s background and no one could have anticipated the criminal conduct in which the officer engaged. The officer was terminated immediately after being charged.
Wright’s sister, who spoke anonymously, told WREG that her brother was “child-like.”
“As a mature adult, you’re not gonna go and play with toys. He’s that type. He would play with BB guns, you know, just things a child would find interesting,” she said.
Despite the shocking allegation, she said her brother is “still a good person.”
“He just needs help,” she said. “I mean, ’cause anybody that does something like that, there’s got to be something wrong with them.”
Wright is due in court on Tuesday.
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