A man in Birmingham, England has been accused of stealing flowers that were left as a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne.
According to Sky News, 45-year-old Parvis Jafari was arrested Saturday and later charged with theft from the makeshift memorial, where fans have left thousands of floral tributes, cards and other items honoring the life of the late heavy metal trailblazer. The defendant is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 3.
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Ozzy Osbourne’s funeral cortege passes the memorial on July 30. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
West Midlands Police confirmed that he was apprehended after officers were alerted to a theft at the Broad Street location near Black Sabbath Bridge and a mural painted in Osbourne’s honor.
Earlier this week, the Birmingham City Council began collecting the tributes on behalf of the family, after which they were to be sent to a secret location for archiving.
Some of the blossoms reportedly will be scattered by his grave.
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Ozzy Osbourne in 2010. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images)
Osbourne, also known as The Prince of Darkness, died July 22 at age 76 after longstanding health battles, including Parkinson’s disease. His death certificate stated his cause of death was of “out of hospital cardiac arrest” and “acute myocardial infarction.”
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer died just weeks after his farewell show with Black Sabbath, where he performed from a chair.
He first revealed in 2020 that he’d been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease the previous year.
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