Baltimore man ran memorial business, claimed to cremate pets but instead dumped their bodies and returned bags of fake ashes to owners: prosecutors

A man in Baltimore County has been charged after fraudulently claiming that his business cremated pets for their owners, while in reality, he would allegedly dump the pet remains and the return bags of fake ashes to them. He has been charged with malicious destruction of property and theft. He has been denied bail.

Rodney Ward, who is facing 56 counts of the malicious destruction of property charges, as well as his wife, Yalanda, are being prosecuted for allegedly running a fraudulent business for over a year and deceiving over 50 pet owners by providing them with boxes full of fake ashes after taking their deceased pets and claiming to cremate them. His wife is also facing charges in the case. Adam Lippe, the prosecutor in the case, said, "None of those boxes came back to be pet remains," when victims submitted the supposed "ashes" for evidence, per WBALTV 11.

"They're all junk, it's all gravel, sand, vermiculite and baking soda. It's not pet remains," Lippe added. The Baltimore County State's Attorney's Office has been looking into the case since March, when several pets' bodies were found dumped on the side of the road.

When investigators searched the Wards' home, they found 38 animal carcasses in a hearse. Yalanda was arrested last week, but her husband fled. He was arrested after a week on the run. Prosecutors argued against bail in the case for Rodney, citing that he would be a flight risk.

"The state's expectations are that this case moves quickly, and then we have a trial, we have a resolution — because I have over 50 victims that want an answer," Lippe said. "I may not be able to find their pets' remains, but hopefully I'll be able to close the story, the tragedy for them about how mean this crime is."

Lippe also said that the Wards continued the alleged fake cremation business during the investigation into their operations.