‘This is a resting place’: Grave robbers raid cemetery, break open multiple caskets

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Criminals have now figured out a way to rob people in the afterlife.

At Rosemont Gardens Memorial Park, it’s unnerving to see busted concrete burial vaults, mausoleums tampered with and inside of them, missing remains and urns.

High grass and weeds surround the entrance of the cemetery, home to hundreds of people in Jackson, including someone near and dear to Zach Martinez.

“When I came up here yesterday, I came to visit my best friend,” Martinez said.

But Zach didn’t find the gravesite the way it last was.

“There was a casket that was pulled out the front, was broken into. They had the whole thing pulled out, so I just went over and put it back in,” Martinez said. “It’s sad what’s going on out here because this is a resting place for people.”

And this isn’t the first time.

Mark Patterson, who’s worked in mortuary services for years, says this has happened over and over and over.

He claims gravesites at Rosemont Gardens Memorial Park are the worst he’s ever seen.

“It’s getting to be an eyesore and a health issue, health hazard,” Patterson said.

A satellite tv stand lying near a tombstone appears to be the weapon robbers used to crack open the caskets, but that’s not confirmed.

Police say they’re not responsible for security gravesites because it’s private property and the owner’s responsibility.

The Secretary of State’s office said the cemetery is registered as a perpetual-care cemetery and is subject to periodic examinations.

They say they are aware of recent mausoleum vandalism and will launch an investigation if a formal complaint is lodged against the cemetery.

Meanwhile, people like Martinez have no issues with asking people who don’t belong here to leave.

“Recently, I saw some people were coming up here, and you could tell they were under the influence, and I had to tell them to leave because if you don’t have family up here, I don’t believe you should be up here,” Martinez said.