Police in Ontario, Ohio, say a woman was caught on camera stealing a toy from a toddler's grave.
Earlier this week, the Ontario police department posted on its Facebook page a video of the woman's alleged thievery. Captured on April 19, the clip shows a woman in a white T-shirt taking a plush duck toy from what police say is the grave of a 14-month-old boy named Hayden, who died in 2007.
According to the Facebook post, Ontario police decided to set up a camera near Hayden's gravesite at Mansfield Memorial Cemetery after the little boy's parents noticed that toys and other items placed on and near their son's grave were being stolen.
"The family wants the person who did this to be held accountable," the post reads. "However they recognize that this person is probably not responsible for all of thefts from [their son's] gravesite. Most of all, the family just wants some assurance that they can leave a night light and a stuffed animal at their son’s grave without someone stealing it."
Thousands of furious netizens share the clip on social media sites. "I am so sorry that this family has to deal with this," one Facebooker wrote Wednesday. "Isnt it enough they lost their precious baby boy?"
CBS affiliate WTVR-TV reported Thursday that a local resident has admitted to taking the stuffed animal from the toddler's gravesite. She is quoted as having told officers that she removed the toy so that a stray dog on the property wouldn't destroy it.
She has been charged with petty theft and will appear in court on May 15, Fox affiliate WTTE reports.
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Jaclyn Sheridan, the toddler's mother, told NBC News she's glad that the culprit was caught. She added, however, that she doesn't believe the woman's stray dog excuse. "I think it's a bunch of bull crap," she said.