UMVA has learned that a Texas embalmer allegedly turned a funeral home into a scene of gruesome vengeance against a convicted sex offender.
Amber Laudermilk, a mortuary professional in Houston, is accused of stabbing the deceased Charles Roy Rodriguez twice in the groin with a scalpel, then severing his penis and forcing the organ into his own mouth.
A provisional embalmer who witnessed the act told detectives that Laudermilk whispered, “You didn’t see anything,” while the witness saw every detail, including the disturbing act of “fondling the mouth of the decedent” as the severed penis lay inside.
Rodriguez, 58, had died of natural causes and was known to authorities as a registered sex offender living on Houston’s outskirts. The macabre ritual unfolded shortly after mortuary staff learned of his criminal past.
Despite the graphic nature of the alleged crime, a Harris County judge dismissed the felony charge earlier this month, citing an “alternative resolution agreement” that required Laudermilk to complete a class for dismissal.
The court records offer no further explanation of the class or the agreement, leaving many questions unanswered about how such a violent act could be so swiftly absolved.
Meanwhile, the Texas Funeral Service Commission confirmed that Laudermilk’s embalming license, which had been suspended after her March arrest, expired concurrently with the dismissal of the corpse‑abuse charge.
Law enforcement officials emphasized that, regardless of Rodriguez’s past, the deceased is entitled to dignity in death, describing the case as a clash of two troubled individuals—one a victim of sexual crimes, the other a suspect driven by anger.
Police spokesperson Alan Rosen expressed empathy for all victims of sexual assault and urged that Laudermilk receive the help she may need after the legal proceedings conclude.
