8 Crypts Found Vandalized in Closed Cemetery
In a gruesome act, vandals broke into eight crypts at the abandoned Verdugo Hills Cemetery and exhumed the bodies, propping one corpse up against the crypt and shoving a cigarette in its mouth, Los Angeles police said Wednesday.
A volunteer caretaker who last visited the cemetery in October discovered the macabre scene Tuesday afternoon.
The vandals opened eight of the above-ground graves and pulled out seven caskets, leaving no fingerprints on any of the marble surfaces, said Det. Jim Vojtecky of the LAPD’s Foothill Division. There were no suspects.
The State Cemetery Board declined to take responsibility for the corpses, leaving the task of cleaning up the scene to the city of Los Angeles. The city and state board have long sparred over which agency should take responsibility for the former private cemetery, which opened in 1923 and was closed in 1976.
Police enlisted the help of Councilman Joel Wachs, who arranged for the eight bodies to be transported to a Tujunga mortuary.
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