(1) Any person, not authorized or directed by the coroner or medical examiner or their deputies, who removes the body of a deceased person not claimed by a relative or friend, or moves, disturbs, molests, or interferes with the human remains coming within the jurisdiction of the coroner or medical examiner as set forth in RCW
68.50.010, to any undertaking rooms or elsewhere, or any person who knowingly directs, aids, or abets such unauthorized moving, disturbing, molesting, or taking, and any person who knowingly conceals the human remains, shall in each of said cases be guilty of a gross misdemeanor.
(2) In evaluating whether it is necessary to retain jurisdiction and custody of human remains under RCW
68.50.010,
68.50.645, and
27.44.055, the coroner or medical examiner shall consider the deceased's religious beliefs, if known, including the tenets, customs, or rites related to death and burial.
(3) For purposes of this section and unless the context clearly requires otherwise, "human remains" has the same meaning as defined in RCW
68.04.020. Human remains also includes, but is not limited to, skeletal remains.