SAN ANTONIO – A judge on Wednesday banned KSAT 12 News cameras from the courtroom where a civil trial lawsuit is being heard over the disappearance of the body of Julie Mott from a Mission Park Funeral Home.
131st Civil District Court Judge Norma Gonzales issued the ban after lawyers objected to the cameras, citing rules that cameras are only allowed if the parties agree.
Cameras were allowed in Gonzales' courtroom Tuesday, when the trial started.
Robert "Dick" Tips, owner and CEO of Mission Park Funeral Homes, returned to the witness stand Wednesday.
Tips testified that on Aug. 16, 2015, Mott's body was discovered missing from the funeral home.
Mott's body was in a coffin in an unsecured room following her funeral the day before, awaiting transfer to a crematorium, Tips said.
He testified about when they learned the body was missing, and how his staff searched the facility for Mott's body with no success.
The Mott family's lawsuit alleges that the funeral home was negligent in not maintaining care, control and custody of their loved ones body.
They are asking for $1 million in damages.
The trial is expected to last at least three weeks.
See a timeline detailing the unexplained disappearance of Julie Mott's body.
To read a copy of the lawsuit, click here.
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