Ex-boyfriend charged in case of Julie Mott's missing remains

Bill Wilburn, 31, accused of twice entering Mission Park Funeral Home

SAN ANTONIO – A longtime person of interest in the case of Julie Mott's missing body twice entered the funeral home from which her body disappeared even though he was banned from the premises, San Antonio police said.

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Bill Wilburn, 31, was arrested Feb. 10 and charged on two counts of criminal trespassing. Wilburn is free on bond, according to county court records.

Wilburn, whom SAPD has stopped short of calling a suspect in the Aug. 2015 disappearance of Mott's body, is scheduled to make a court appearance March 6.

According to a criminal complaint obtained by the KSAT 12 Defenders, Wilburn was seen on surveillance video entering Mission Park North on June 26 and June 29 despite being issued a criminal trespass notice weeks after Mott's body disappeared.

In the first incident, Wilburn fled from the premises after being identified by three witnesses, according to court records.

In a separate development in the case, SAPD confirmed Tuesday that a judge signed off on a warrant last week allowing investigators to collect a DNA sample from Wilburn.

"I think he's being a little disingenuous, and I don't think that he's giving us all the information that we need, and he certainly hasn't been what I would call 'overly cooperative,'" police spokesman Sgt. Jesse Salame said.

Mott, 25, died in August 2015 from complications of cystic fibrosis.

Investigators said her body was taken from Mission Park North a week later after her memorial service but before her body could be cremated.

Mott's family filed a lawsuit against Mission Park and owner Dick Tips in January 2016, seeking more than $1 million in damages for what it called "gross negligence."

Wilburn told a KSAT 12 reporter via telephone last summer that he was no longer a person of interest in the case, an assertion that SAPD has repeatedly denied.

A Mission Park representative said Tuesday that the company installed surveillance cameras after Wilburn was issued a criminal trespass warning in September 2015. Video captured by the cameras was later provided to investigators.

Salame said the criminal trespassing charges came after Wilburn repeatedly harassed employees of the funeral home.

"Whatever your beliefs are, however you feel about death and the afterlife, everybody deserves the opportunity to put their family to rest the way they choose to," Salame said.

The search for Mott's remains continues, Salame said.

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