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Local funeral homes refused services for the gunman in the deadly May 24 attack at Robb Elementary School. His body has been "languishing" in a morgue for nearly a month.
The gunman's body underwent an autopsy three days after he opened fire at the Uvalde elementary school, killing 19 children and two teachers. The two funeral homes in Uvalde refused services, and his remains were eventually stores 150 miles away in Lockhart, the city's de facto coroner Eulalio "Lalo" Diaz Jr. told the Houston Chronicle.
"Once they got to him, the funeral homes in town said, 'We don’t want to deal with him.' As the funerals for the victims were going on, I was still dealing with what to do with him. It was a stressful time," Diaz said.
Taylor Michelle Massey, managing director at Uvalde funeral home Rushing-Estes-Knowles, confirmed the home's refusal to arrange services for the gunman. "All of our staff grew up in Uvalde County and attended school in Uvalde County and believe that everyone deserves a dignified and respectful funeral service. However, in the weeks following the shootings of May 24th, we were caring for 17 families … through what is probably the most difficult time in their lives. Under the circumstance, we did not feel it would be appropriate or in the best interest of the families for which we were caring to take custody of the remains of the individual that caused their pain," she said.
While this was going on, the gunman's family was also working to determine what to do with his remains. As you'll recall, the shooter lived with his grandparents, but shot his grandmother the morning of the Robb Elementary School shooting.
"It took three, three and a half weeks to get him released to the family. They were fighting with each other," Diaz said.
The shooter's funeral arrangements were handled by Castle Ridge in Crystal City. He was cremated in downtown San Antonio, albeit the exact date is unclear.