We visit the graves of our loved ones and leave flowers and other tokens to make them feel cherished even though they are not with us. On special occasions, such as birthdays, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and even Mother’s and Father’s Day, more memorable things are placed at the graves.
That’s why it’s doubly devastating to learn that criminals have been digging up corpses from the Grove Street Cemetery in New London, Ohio.
The discovery of the missing mementos on her family’s graves caused one of the victims to become enraged. One of the survivors was furious when she discovered that the mementos recently placed on her relatives’ graves had been stolen. During an interview with WJW Cleveland, she said, “This cemetery is very dear to my heart. My parents are here; my grandparents are here; my great grandparents are here. I’m going to be here.”
The value of what they took was minor, but it has great personal meaning that no amount of money could buy. The victim stated, “I gave that flower pot to my father for Father’s Day in 1977. It has no price that they can give me to replace that pot.”
The criminals had no idea that there were surveillance cameras at the burial ground. And the second they grabbed these relics was caught on video. When these videos of them stealing were made public, residents were shocked. The perpetrators happened to be two elderly individuals, as it turned out.
The victim stated, “I couldn’t believe it; they just leisurely shopped through our cemetery taking what they wanted.”
In the video, it appears as if they went ‘shopping’ in the cemetery. They’d haul away whatever they liked from the graves and put it in their automobile. Surprisingly, some of the things they looted were weighted down with large bricks. When people discovered who these robbers were, what startled the town more was when they found out why they did it.
According to the video, a black vehicle approaches slowly and then parks. When the doors opened, two ladies got out and began looting the burial site. Evelyne Cantu, 61, and Donna Riley, 63, are both residents of Sullivan Township. She’s also served as the township fiscal officer.
Police Chief Mike Marko stated, “Somebody buries their loved one and they go out to the cemetery and they put something down and they expect it to be there, and when somebody removes that theft, it’s personal. ” He also spoke about the financial aspect, remarking, “It’s a position of trust, no different than being a police officer, we are held to a higher standard and when something like this happens we are going to pay the price for it.”
Fortunately, the police were able to identify and charge the criminals after viewing the surveillance footage. Both women were initially helpful, according to police reports, but they hired attorneys to fight for their case and pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor theft charges when they did so. They have not returned any of the things they took from these graves, according to reports.
This is why video recordings from both public and private locations are crucial. You can’t simply trust anybody these days. That’s why you’ll see security cameras all over the place these days.
