SC man accused of breaking into ex-girlfriend’s home, dumping ashes of child into trash

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. — A South Carolina man is accused of breaking into his former girlfriend’s home, damaging property and dumping the ashes of the woman’s dead child into the trash, authorities said.

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Joseph Scott Oberlies, 33, was arrested Thursday and charged with first-degree burglary and the destruction of human remains, according to Charleston County Sheriff’s Office online booking records.

According to the Mount Pleasant Police Department, Oberlies had been placed on trespass notice after threatening several times to break into the woman’s home.

Police said that Oberlies was caught on doorbell camera entering the woman’s home at about 3:30 a.m. EDT on Sept. 3, WCBD-TV reported. The victim told police that Oberlies damaged her flat-screen television with a hammer and threw an urn, which contained her son’s ashes, into the trash, according to the television station.

Police said the camera caught Oberlies approaching the door of the vacant home, entering a code and walking into the residence, WCIV-TV reported. He left moments later but returned shortly after 4 a.m., according to the television station. He is not seen again on camera until about 7:52 a.m., police said.

The victim said that Oberlies took the top of the urn off before throwing it away, WCSC-TV reported. The deceased child was not shared between Oberlies and the victim, according to the television station.

The victim dated the suspect for several months until early summer this year, WCIV reported.

The victim and her children were not home at the time of the alleged break-in, WCBD reported. The woman told police that Oberlies would have had no way of knowing that and worried about her family’s safety had they been at the home.

Oberlies was released Thursday evening after posting $60,000 bail, online records show.

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