Talk of satanism emerges in trial involving loss of San Antonio woman’s body

Timothy Mott, right, hugs his wife Sharlotte Mott, after she testified on the sixth day of testimony in the civil case against MPII, which does business as Mission Park Funeral Chapels and Cemeteries, accused of losing a body from a casket in 2015, in the 131st Civil District Court on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. less Timothy Mott, right, hugs his wife Sharlotte Mott, after she testified on the sixth day of testimony in the civil case against MPII, which does business as Mission Park Funeral Chapels and Cemeteries, accused ... more Photo: Bob Owen /San Antonio Express-News Photo: Bob Owen /San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 29 Caption Close Talk of satanism emerges in trial involving loss of San Antonio woman’s body 1 / 29 Back to Gallery

A day of testimony that began with a mother’s grief took an unusual turn Tuesday when allegations of satanism emerged involving an employee of the mortuary service that was used to transport the woman’s daughter’s body to the funeral home where it later went missing.

In a video deposition shown to the jury, Frederick Beyer, an owner of Beyer & Beitel Mortuary Services, which embalmed Julie Mott, was questioned about employee Nicholas Moreno by Alex Katzman, an attorney representing plaintiffs Timothy and Sharlotte Mott.

The Motts are suing MPII Inc., which does business as Mission Park Funeral Chapels and Cemeteries, for gross negligence in the disappearance of their daughter’s body from a casket at its Northwest Side facility on Cherry Ridge.

Katzman brought up Moreno’s social media postings after establishing that Beyer & Beitel does not do background checks on its employees, although there was no indication that Moreno had contact with Julie Mott’s body.

A subcontractor of Mission Park, Moreno plays in a band called Flesh Hoarder, which lists its genre as “brutal death metal,” and posts satanic pictures on his Facebook page.

Beyer said he liked hard rock, “but not that hard,” in response to questions about Flesh Hoarder’s music by Katzman.

“He’s testified he’s into Satan,” Katzman said. “Did you know that?”

“No,” Beyer replied. “I didn’t know anything about Satan.”

“Is there any concern in regard with him having access to departed loved ones,” Katzman asked Beyer.

“No,” Beyer said.

“He posts satanic pictures,” Katzman said. “Did you talk to Nicholas Moreno about what it means?”

“No,” Beyer replied. “It’s all fantasy. He’s worked with me for years. He’s one of the sweetest guys.”

Also shown during the video deposition was Moreno’s profile picture on his personal Facebook page. It shows two men singing, with a cover photo of a dark figure eating a severed limb, surrounded by headstones with the names of bandmates above the words “homicidal necrophile.”

The Mott family has accused Robert “Dick” Tips, who owns MPII Inc., and his wife Kristin, who is president of the company, of hiding the fact that their firm uses third-party contractors to transport bodies to be prepared for burial or cremation. The Motts also allege the company provided numerous people access — 24 hours a day, seven days a week — to Mission Park facilities with security codes that hadn't been changed in 20 years and keys to locks that hadn’t been replaced in a decade.

In Beyer’s deposition, he said their unlimited access ended Aug. 16, 2015, the day Julie Mott’s body went missing.

The Tipses dispute they did anything wrong and allege that the Motts did not inform them that their daughter’s ex-boyfriend, Bill Wilburn, was abusive with Julie Mott, “obsessed” with contacting her before her death, and had motive to “steal” her body because he objected to her cremation.

The plaintiffs rested their case Tuesday, shortly after the video deposition, which was preceded by the emotional testimony of Julie Mott’s mother, who told the jury who will decide the civil case of the “horror” she lives with knowing that her daughter’s body is missing.

When her attorney, Ron Salazar, asked her what it was like getting that news, Sharlotte Mott had to compose herself before replying.

“It was heartbreaking. Horrifying,” she said through heaves and sobs. “It was unbelievable. I thought, ‘Who took my baby?’”

Julie Mott, died Aug. 8, 2015. She was 25.

Sharlotte Mott is the third family member to testify in the civil trial, which is in its second week. Her husband, Timothy, and son, Jonathan, testified Monday.

She said her heart breaks each time she sees the urn that they purchased for her daughter.

“Her urn sits empty,” she said as she cried. “We can’t even put a picture (on it). She’s not there.”

Psychologist William Erwin concurred that the Motts are “stuck” in their grief and that finding out their daughter’s body was missing increased their severe depression. He said they have not been able to move on from the anger stage.

On cross-examination, John Guerra, representing Mission Park, appeared to try and establish that the depression and anxiety suffered by Sharlotte Mott already existed before the loss of her daughter’s body because she knew she eventually would die, and questioned Erwin on whether the Motts’ diagnosis of “severe depression” could increase.

“Yes, you can say more severe,” Erwin said, adding that no one asked him that before.

The case is being heard in the 131st Civil District Court, presided by Judge Norma Gonzales.