NASHVILLE, Tenn. — No matter how much digging investigators did, the crime remained open until a thief turned himself in and returned the fruits of his theft.
In this case, the crime was stealing two hydrangeas in May 1958 from Centennial Park in Nashville. And the thief, 72-year-old Bill Teitleff of Joy, Ky., returned plants from the root system of the purloined flowers to the park on Thursday.
Teitliff told WSMV-TV in Nashville he took the flowering plant because he didn’t have enough money at the time to buy a Mother’s Day gift for his mother.
At the time of the theft, Teitleff was 18 years old and just married.
Eventually, however, Teitleff couldn’t live with his guilty conscience.
“This doesn’t clear what I did. That’s between me and him (points to the sky),” Teitleff said, according to WSMV. “But this is between me and the people here at the park, and they’ve accepted wholeheartedly.”
Teitleff says he can now walk through Centennial Park without feeling guilty.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.