Flowers stolen from South Carolina mother's casket hours after funeral

GREENVILLE, S.C. (WTVD) -- A woman said her mother's flowers were stolen from the top of her casket hours after her funeral.

Debra Bishop Galloway said she was very close to her mother.

"She was a very dedicated and wonderful Christian lady," Galloway said.

Her mother recently died, and Galloway held her funeral service last week.

"It was beautiful," Galloway said. "It was just what she would have wanted."

Galloway placed a fresh flower arrangement with cardinals in shades of pink--her mother's favorite color--on top of her casket. She said the flowers cost hundreds of dollars. She left for dinner, then came back to the cemetery. In a few hours, the flowers had been stolen.

"It was just devastating to come and see that this was done on the day of her funeral," Galloway said.

Galloway said she's brought flowers to put on the graves of other family members in the cemetery, like her grandmother and father. She said those flowers sometimes disappear as well.

"You just hope when you come back and visit the graves they're here," Galloway said. "If not , I've always just gone and bought more."

Galloway said the theft won't stop her from showing love for her mother, and she plans to return with more pink flowers soon.