A drunk teenager sneaked into a funeral parlour and filmed the dead bodies before posting the sick video on social media.
The 16-year-old – who cannot be named for legal reasons – could be heard laughing in the disturbing footage, which was taken at Dunnett’s Funeral Directors in Thurso.
He pleaded guilty to a breach of the peace by letter and had sentence deferred at Wick Sheriff Court.
The court was told that he committed the offence after entering an unlocked door on December 30 last year.
No details were given about how the incident was detected.
The youth has since moved away from Caithness to Rochdale in Greater Manchester.
Fiscal David Barclay said the case was unusual in many respects and was understandably upsetting for the relatives of the dead.
The police had obtained victim impact statements from them.
Solicitor Laura-Jane McFarlane said that the accused had been “really drunk” at the time and was “deeply ashamed” of his behaviour.
She said that the lad had “negative” influences while he was living in Caithness.
And she added: “He is aware of how stressful his behaviour was for family members of the deceased.”
‘Concerning behaviour and stress’
Sheriff Neil Kinnear also referred to the “very concerning behaviour and stress” that had been caused by the youth, who was also heard shouting and swearing on the footage.
The court was told that the boy was currently subject to a structured deferred sentence which was previously imposed on him at Wick Sheriff Court.
In February, he admitted charges of dangerous driving and causing injury to an 83-year-old woman in Castletown but was since said to be progressing “really well” under supervision.
When the order ends in 2023, the accused will return to the court in Wick where he will also be sentenced for the funeral parlour incident.
Sheriff Kinnear said he didn’t think that there was much to be gained from ordering an additional background report.
A man who identified himself over the phone as being the owner of Dunnett’s Funeral Directors parlour in Thurso declined to comment on the case.
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