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A woman broke into her ex-boyfriend's apartment, ransacked it and dumped the ashes of his cremated brother onto his bedroom floor, police said.

"Dodge was charged with abusing a corpse under RSA 644:7 which says a person is guilty of a misdemeanor if he unlawfully removes, conceals or destroys a corpse or any part thereof."

"Before sentencing can occur, the case may require some delving into the legislative history to decide the definition of a corpse, said McLaughlin, forcing the court to consider whether, by definition, dumping someone's ashes is even a crime.

He said there may also be the question of intent.

"If you spread someone's ashes over the ground at Greeley Park in Nashua, that may be considered a respectful thing to do. But if you throw them at someone in the park, you're committing an act of disrespect. Whether the Legislature, in its wisdom, wants to criminalize something like that remains to be seen," McLaughlin said."