At least 50 headstones vandalized. Damage could be as much as $500,000
TOLEDO, OH -- Workers at the Woodlawn Cemetery made a shocking discovery when they arrived at work Saturday morning. Grounds keepers noticed a number of tombstones were off their foundations.
After driving through different sections of the cemetery, workers discovered that at least 50 tombstones had been vandalized. Shirley El is a cemetery employee.
"I just found out about it. this is awful, there's no respect. I got six generations of people buried out here you know," she said.
Grounds keepers say they saw a number of teenagers loitering around the cemetery and when they went to confront them, they ran off. "They had to be out here a long time in order to do this, more than two people, one person couldn't do this."
El says the people responsible for this desecration should be punished. "I think they should be incarcerated because if they get enough nerve to come in here and do this they should be able to take the responsibility of the judge or anybody else is going to do to them." She says nothing like this has ever happened before. "A person can't be buried and have their monument placed in memory and people will come in here and do something like this, this is awful."
El knows that many families will be concerned about whether their relatives grave markers have been vandalized.
"They're going to be very upset and I'm speaking for myself because I have loved ones out here, I'm just devastated," she said.
Many of the tombstones at Woodlawn range in price from $7,000 to $15,000 and with 50 grave markers involved the potential financial damage could be in excess of half a million dollars.
Kay Foster, Woodlawn's director, says that she and her staff would work closely with the Toledo Police Department to find the person or persons repsonsible. If you have any information, call Crimestopper at 419-255-1111.
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