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Police have suspect in alleged grave robbing case at St. Joseph Cemetery

By Howard B. Owens

Batavia PD investigators and the District Attorney's Office are sorting through legal statutes to figure out exactly what crime to charge a local 18-year-old man with after he allegedly dug up a relative's urn at St. Joseph's Cemetery in Batavia.

The 18-year-old apparently decided he wanted to keep some of ashes of a many-years-deceased relative, so he dug up the urn and took it home, according to Det. Todd Crossett.  

The hole in the ground at the cemetery was discovered yesterday and police quickly identified a suspect.

"In 18 years, this is a first," Crossett, referring to the first grave robbing investigation of his career.

Since it is an unusual case, and the fact that what was stolen is ashes, which creates a small legal wrinkle that investigators want to straighten out, they are looking for some legal clarifications before actually filing charges, Crossett said.

Crossett said an arrest could come as soon as today and police will release more details once the suspect is booked and processed.

Raymond Richardson

They could start with a larceny of services, the cost of opening and closing a grave is over $1000 in most instances. Then there's criminal trespass.

Apr 9, 2015, 8:12am Permalink

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