BIRMINGHAM, AL — A 34-year-old man was arrested Sunday afternoon after stealing a freshly placed bouquet of roses from a gravesite at Elmwood Cemetery in order to present them to his mother for Mother’s Day — a plan that fell apart when his mother recognized the cemetery’s distinctive black ribbon and asked him point-blank, “Travis, did you take these off a dead woman?”
Travis Donovan Pickett reportedly entered the cemetery at approximately 11:30 a.m., approached a gravesite where flowers had been placed earlier that morning, removed the bouquet, and drove the eleven miles to his mother’s home in Center Point. Investigators say Pickett did not remove the small card attached to the bouquet, which read, “For Mama. Love always, Eugene.” Pickett’s mother is named Deborah. His father’s name is Frank.
Mama Knows
Deborah Pickett, 61, told officers her son arrived on her doorstep with the bouquet, a Hallmark card he had clearly signed in the car using a pen retrieved from her own glove compartment, and “a smile that immediately told me something was wrong.” She read the attached card, identified the cemetery’s signature black ribbon, and walked her son back to his vehicle, where she instructed him to drive her — and the flowers — directly back to Elmwood.
“I raised that boy in church. I am not accepting stolen grave flowers on Mother’s Day. The Lord is watching. Eugene’s mama is watching. I am watching. Put ’em back, Travis.” — Deborah Pickett, mother and accidental whistleblower
Upon returning to the cemetery, Mrs. Pickett insisted her son personally apologize to Eugene’s family, who were still at the gravesite. Eugene’s family, understandably confused, accepted the apology and the returned bouquet. They also called the police, who were dispatched to the scene.
Pickett was booked into the Jefferson County Jail on charges of theft of property and desecration of a cemetery. His JailReport.lol booking has been tagged “Mama Did Not Raise No Thief — Except She Did.” Mrs. Pickett told reporters outside the courthouse that she still loves her son but added, “He’s getting socks for his birthday. Just socks.” Bond has been set at $1,500.