The Disappearance of Julie Mott : A Family's Nine- Year Fight for Justice

On August 8, 2015, 25-year-old Julie Mott passed away from complications related to cystic fibrosis. Her death devastated her family, but they came together to honor her memory with a funeral service at Mission Park Funeral Home in San Antonio, Texas. The service began at 1:30 p.m. and ended around 4:30 p.m. Afterward, her body was placed back inside the funeral home as her remains would be cremated , and her loved ones returned home.

But what happened next would leave her family shocked and desperate for answers.

Julie’s mother, Sharlotte Mott, found out her daughter’s body was missing when she arrived at the Mission Park to collect some of Julie’s jewelry and personal belongings and flowers there she was make a horrific discovery her daughter’s casket had been pried open she would later call the police and notify them what she had just witnessed . The staff would later tell Sharlotte they were frantically searching for her daughter’s body. Sharlotte would recount what she had felt that day she found out that her daughter’s body was missing

 “I cry quite easily all the time,”

 Sharlotte later said.

 “There’s a lot of sadness in the fact that we don’t know where she is. Nothing has changed.” 

The casket she had been laid to rest in was found empty. One of its hinges was broken, the bier was knocked over in an “unnatural position” near an exit, and yet — there were no signs of forced entry. The building’s ADT security system had not been triggered.

An employee who had locked up the night before reported that Julie’s casket was left in the hallway awaiting cremation. But by morning, she was gone.

During the investigation, police discovered a man lingering at the funeral home during Julie’s service — later identified as her ex-boyfriend, Bill Wilburn. The couple had broken up two years prior after dating for 6 years , but Bill had attended the funeral and was seen wandering the premises for more than 15 minutes before being escorted out by a staff member.

Despite being served a criminal trespass notice, Wilburn returned to the funeral home twice. He was later arrested for trespassing. When asked if he had anything to do with Julie’s missing remains, he denied any involvement.

“It’s a lot less far-fetched than somebody just going into a building and stealing a body without anybody noticing,” Wilburn said. “Why didn’t any of the employees notice when they left that day?”

San Antonio Police Department Sergeant Javier Salazar would comment on the investigation 

“ This was not a case of somebody thinking they were stealing an empty casket; the body was the clear target”. 

Sergeant Salazar would continue 

“ Our number one priority, of course, is getting her back to her family. A close second is to find out who the person was who did it and bring them to justice”.

The Mott family quickly pointed fingers at Wilburn, especially after learning he had been calling them repeatedly in the middle of the night, asking if there were any updates. He also reportedly called Mission Park more than 200 times in a single day. Wilburn had also called Julie multiple times and sent her multiple text messages weeks leading up to her death.

It was also found out that Wilburn would be actively posting on a forum called mydeathspace.com were he would make posts putting all the blame on the employees and that he would do everything in his power to find Julie’s body he would also make posts of information that had not been released by the police of Julie’s casket had been damaged. Julie’s brother would find out about Wilburn’s post and reply to his post writing 

“ I remember thinking it was weird that you stayed back to be the last person to say goodbye to Julie. I thought that was disrespectful to the family. I though it was extremely disrespectful that when I got up to speak, you left your seat in the back of the chapel, walked up the center (sic) isle, and sat where I was seated. Next to my wife and parents. Like you were part of the family. I’ve got big news for you, bud you’re not a part of our family. I remember as we were walking out, my dad telling the funeral director to watch you because you might steal something. Of the fucking irony on that one!”.

But the family also held the funeral home accountable. On February 13, 2018, they filed a lawsuit against Mission Park Funeral Home. During the court proceedings, it was revealed that the funeral home used a third-party mortuary service, Beyer & Beitel, whose employees had unrestricted three hour window. After-hours access to the facility, including exterior door keys and alarm codes.

According to court documents and reporting by Express-News, this wasn’t the first time Mission Park or Beyer & Beitel had been involved in troubling incidents. The mortuary service had previously been sued for mixing up the bodies of two elderly women. Mission Park itself had been linked to multiple body-handling errors dating back to the early 2000s.

The jury ultimately sided with the Mott family, awarding them $8 million in damages. After the verdict, Mission Park co-owner Robert “ Dick” Tips who Julie’s Father Time once worked for as a private pilot said he wasn’t surprised and hoped that the truth would one day come to light. Robert would also add wha he believed may of had occurred that day

“ She was removed from here and taken to a visitation suite and would have been moved on August 17 to be cremated at the crematory, to Mission South”. 

Richard would also offer a $2,000 for information leading to the recovery of Julie’s remains.

As of today, nine years later, Julie Mott’s body has never been found. Her family continues to grieve, not only from losing their daughter, but from the haunting reality that they still don’t know where she is or who is responsible.

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