2023 Minnesota Statutes

609.502 INTERFERENCE WITH DEAD BODY; REPORTING.

Subdivision 1.Concealing evidence.

A person is guilty of a crime and may be sentenced under subdivision 1a if the person interferes with the body or scene of death with intent to:

(1) conceal the body;

(2) conceal evidence; or

(3) otherwise mislead the coroner or medical examiner.

Subd. 1a.Penalty.

A person convicted under subdivision 1, clause (2) or (3), is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. A person convicted under subdivision 1, clause (1), may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than three years or to a payment of a fine of not more than $5,000 or both.

Subd. 2.Failure to report.

(a) A person in charge of a cemetery who has knowledge that the body of a deceased person interred in the cemetery has been unlawfully removed shall:

(1) immediately report the occurrence to local law enforcement authorities; and

(2) inform the next of kin of the deceased person, if known, within three business days of the discovery of the body's removal unless the person making the report has been instructed in writing by law enforcement authorities that informing the next of kin would compromise an active law enforcement investigation.

(b) A person who violates paragraph (a), clause (1) or (2), is guilty of a misdemeanor.

History:

1976 c 257 s 2; 1990 c 402 s 2; 2016 c 175 s 1,2