PHOENIX — A former security guard at Banner University Medical Center Phoenix was arrested and is facing charges of crimes against a dead person, following witnesses seeing him engage in inappropriate conduct with a corpse, police said.
Phoenix police officers responded to the Banner University Medical Center Phoenix on Oct. 24 in reference to a possible crimes against the dead call. The call was in reference to former security guard Randall Bird, 46.
During the initial investigation, detectives learned the incident involved a deceased victim who died at the hospital on Oct. 23 of natural causes at the age of 79.
Two witnesses, also security personnel, told police they saw Bird inside the freezer, “sweating profusely” and “acting very nervous.” The witnesses stated that Bird’s uniform was “messy” and his pants were not zipped.
The deceased victim’s body was in an unzipped bag, not in the proper storage position and not fully clothed, according to court documents.
Bird told witnesses that he had a “medical episode” and fainted, grabbing the victim’s body as he fell. However, the details he told the two witnesses did not line up with what the witnesses saw, according to the court documents.
The witnesses then reported the incident to their supervisor, at which time an internal investigation was initiated and the police were called.
In Bird’s position as a security guard for the hospital, he worked intake at the hospital’s morgue. The intake process consists of taking custody of the deceased bodies transported to the morgue, verifying the identity of the deceased and then placing the body in a large freezer where they remain until claimed by family.
The Maricopa County Medical Examiner conducted an evidence collection examination and a sexual assault examination on the deceased victim, in which they found post mortem fractures in the victim’s ribs and male DNA on her body.
Evidence collected from the scene determined Bird’s DNA was the DNA found on the deceased victim’s body.
Bird is facing a charge of crimes against a dead person, which in Arizona is a class four felony, and will appear in court on Dec.4.
Bird is no longer working at Banner Health, Banner Health told 12News in a statement.
“Banner Health has and remains committed to high standards that require each of our team members to treat everyone, at every stage of life, with compassion, dignity, and respect,” Banner Health said in a statement. “We are grateful for the work of the Phoenix Police Department in the investigation and handling of this matter, and we will continue to cooperate with law enforcement.”
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