US Mausoleum Faceplate Smashed Open, Grave Inside Robbed

By Lorri Wickenhauser October 13, 2023 at 11:40am

Authorities in Colorado are investigating a gruesome incident at a cemetery in which a mausoleum was broken into and body parts were stolen from a corpse.

Investigators with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said the incident happened at the Crown Hill Cemetery in the Denver suburb of Lakewood.

Body parts stolen from mausoleum at Crown Hill Cemetery https://t.co/l8VeeRMYFw pic.twitter.com/Xrc5WtVWIv

— FOX31 Denver KDVR (@KDVR) October 11, 2023

It was reported Wednesday morning at about 7:20 a.m., according to a news release on the agency’s website.

“It appears unknown suspects entered the cemetery during the overnight hours, forced entry into the crypt and gained access to the casket,” according to the report.

“The casket, that housed the decedent’s remains, had been pried open and portions of the body were removed.”

Sheriff’s office spokeswoman Jacki Kelley told KUSA-TV that only one of three crypts in the mausoleum was disturbed.

“The faceplate had been smashed away and was laying on the ground,” she said. “The crypt behind that had been accessed and the casket that was inside was partially pulled out.”

Should crimes against the resting dead carry extra punishment?

Kelley said in the TV interview that the person “died long ago,” but the person’s name was not revealed.

She said investigators had been repeatedly trying to reach the deceased party’s next of kin, with no response.

They did not reveal which body parts were stolen.

“It’s so disturbing that someone would take the steps to unearth, someone who has been laid to rest and to do anything to harm the body of somebody who’s gone, and how devastating these can be for families,” Kelley said.

“It’s disturbing, and it’s awful, and it’s sad. And it’s a felony charge. The abuse of a corpse...it’s digging up, it’s removing, it’s altering, it’s destroying anything about a body. And that’s why it’s such a serious charge,” Kelley told KUSA.

Sheriff’s officials say the crypt in a private mausoleum at the cemetery was broken into overnight https://t.co/oU7ceVw1pQ

— The Denver Post (@denverpost) October 11, 2023

Deputies conducted a search, but did not find any suspects, the Denver Post reported.

The sheriff’s office asked anyone with information on the crime to call a tip line at (303) 271-5612.

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