A Nebraska funeral director has been accused of using a body bag to try to steal a life-size sex doll from the home of a recently deceased person.
Ryan Smith, 42, worked for Mid-American First Call, a company that handles body transportation, embalming, cremation and other funeral-related services, when he was arrested in October 2023, according to court records obtained by The Washington Post on Tuesday.
Police said Smith and another worker were dispatched by the sheriff’s office to an apartment building in Sarpy County on Oct. 6 to remove the body of a resident who had recently died.
According to an arrest affidavit, there was a “life-size statue of an adult woman” in the room where the deceased was.
Police said Smith and another Mid American employee “made comments about a sex doll” when they arrived to collect the body.
Later that day, Smith allegedly returned to the apartment and identified himself as a representative from the Sheriff’s Office, according to court documents.
He allegedly told apartment workers he needed to retrieve the sex doll as evidence — he had a body bag with him, which he planned to use to smuggle the doll out of the home.
But shortly thereafter, a manager at another apartment building discovered the deceased resident’s front door was deadbolted and had a chain on it, court documents state.
Staff at the complex confronted Mr Smith, whose shirt was hanging off his trousers and his pants were in disarray, and warned him that he could not remove any property from the deceased’s home.
According to arrest records, Smith allegedly asked the cleaning staff to let the manager know when he was leaving the store, as the cleaning staff was concerned that Smith would return and take the dolls.
When authorities arrived to check the apartment again, they noticed the bed had been rearranged and a black survival case had been removed from the closet, according to arrest documents.
Meanwhile, the sex doll appeared to have been tampered with around the inner thighs, making it “sticky to the touch”, so officers removed it for DNA testing.
Based on evidence at the scene, Smith was subsequently arrested and charged with theft, impersonating a police officer, trespassing and tampering with physical evidence.
He was released on bail and is currently awaiting a court date, according to the documents.
Ryan Smith’s attorney could not be reached for comment, and Mid-American First Call did not immediately respond to The Washington Post’s request for comment.
