Medical Examiner employee accused of robbing dead person
(FOX 5 NY Illustration/Office of the Chief Medical Examiner seal)
NEW YORK - An employee of the New York City Medical Examiner is accused of robbing a dead person.
Trevor Rheams, 49, of Queens is accused of stealing a Louis Vuitton bag that belonged to a victim whose body was in the care of the medical examiner.
Rheams was arrested on Oct. 26th and charged with petit larceny and official misconduct. He was arraigned and released on his own recognizance.
According to the criminal complaint, on August 9, 2022, Rheams, a driver for the department, was assigned to drive an OCME vehicle to transport bodies to the medical examiner's headquarters in Manhattan.
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Rheams arrived as an apartment with a colleague to pick up a body. An NYPD Officer was in the apartment and their body camera showed a Louis Vuitton bag in the kitchen.
Rheams was left alone in the apartment for a period of time.
The next day, another OCME employee cleaned and inspected the vehicle Rheams had used and found a pillowcase on the passenger side floor containing a Louis Vuitton bag with a tag bearing the same last name as the dead person.
Rheams was arrested after an investigation.
"OCME employees are trusted to handle difficult and sensitive work and their professionalism and integrity are of the utmost importance," DOI Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber said. "As charged, this city employee betrayed that trust when he used his access to a decedent's home and personal belongings to steal a luxury bag."
Rheams has been employed by the department since 2007. He has been on modified duty since August 10, 2022.