coffin rider

coffin rider (plural coffin riders)

1. (slang, uncommon) A person who enriches himself through the exploitation of the misery, suffering, or deaths of others.
   • 1983, CBS Magazines (publisher), Hi Fi/stereo Review - Volume 48, page 10:

     mainly because he came into the business as an Elvis Presley coffin rider and then allowed himself to be turned into a heartthrob for the over-the-thrill set.

   • 2020, Faith Hunter, Spells for the Dead, page 64:

     "And besides," Sophee Anne said, "financially speaking, Stella was worth way more to us all alive than dead, even with the coffin-rider sales. No one had a reason to want her killed."

   • 2022, Sam Cheever, An Unconventional Mourning (A Fun and Quirky Cozy Mystery with Pets):

     Surely the organizers had provided training for the coffin-rider gig.