A Vietnam veteran in Alabama is fighting mad after he claims a burglar broke into his home and smoked his dead wife’s ashes, perhaps thinking they were drugs.

“I was furious,” Phillip McMullen told FOX10 News in Mobile, Ala. “That’s when I almost lost it. That’s what made me want to kill again.”

The burglar broke into McMullen’s home in Mobile County while he was away visiting friends, he told the station. He said he returned home to find that someone had broken into his home through a back window and stolen several items, including a generator, a chainsaw and a knife.

The Air Force veteran said he felt angry and heartbroken when he discovered that the thief had taken the ashes of his wife of 22 years out of a small plastic box on the headboard of his bed, and had smoked the ashes with a homemade pipe.

Prosecutors said if the burglar is caught, he or she will face charges of desecration of a grave.

About the Author

Keep Reading

An aerial image shows part of John A. White Park taken on Wednesday, July 4, 2025, where the City of Atlanta plans to build new trails as part of the citywide Trails ATL plan. (Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Featured

Scott Jackson (right), business service consultant for WorkSource Fulton, helps job seekers with their applications in a mobile career center at a job fair hosted by Goodwill Career Center in Atlanta. (Ziyu Julian Zhu/AJC)

Credit: Ziyu Julian Zhu/AJC