State Allows Cemetery to Reopen for Visitations

A cemetery that was shut down after state investigators found pieces of caskets and bone fragments scattered around the grounds will be reopened June 15 so families can visit loved ones buried there, state officials said Wednesday.

Woodlawn Cemetery, which was abruptly closed March 27 after the improprieties were discovered, will be reopening only for visitations. No interments, disinterments or sale of plots will be permitted, state officials said.

The Cemetery and Funeral Bureau shut the cemetery after inspectors found that cemetery workers had unlawfully converted single-burial graves to multiple graves. When previously disinterred remains were disturbed, the cemetery sometimes failed to properly reinter all the remains, officials said.

The cemetery also allegedly continued to sell burial plots, although it no longer had any empty grave sites.

For the last two months, state officials and a team of forensic archeologists have been investigating the cemetery’s grounds to determine how many graves were affected.

State officials said Wednesday they can’t answer that question, adding they have completed their investigation of the cemetery’s grounds but are still looking into other matters. They will hold an administrative hearing Aug. 14, officials said.

Families who have questions or concerns can call the Department of Cemetery Affairs Consumer Hotline at (800)-952-5210.