A man will stand trial after being accused of flushing his grandparents’ ashes down the toilet, after his mother kicked him out of her house.
Thomas Wells briefly lived with Denise Porter, in her house in Pittsburgh, in September 2018.
Ms Porter reportedly complained about the 33-year-old’s drinking and marijuana use, according to The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
She asked her son to leave but later learned he allegedly retaliated by flushing the ashes of her late mother and father down the toilet before moving out.
The ashes had been kept in Ms Porter’s bedroom along with a memorial, according to a criminal complaint submitted in February 2019.
Mr Wells faces two counts of abuse of a corpse and a criminal mischief charge.
On Tuesday a preliminary hearing on the case was held.
The judge overseeing the matter ruled that Mr Wells was required to stand trial on the charges.
Ms Porter told police officers in February 2019 that a relative had told her about her son’s actions
The 33-year-old initially denied the allegation when his mother confronted him during a phone conversation on 1 February.
But according to the complaint, Mr Wells later sent his mother a text message saying he would also flush her remains down the toilet after she was dead.
“Soon as you die you’ll be going in the same spot where you belong,” the text reportedly read, according to The Smoking Gun website.
Additional reporting by agencies
