Robbers desecrate the graves of American blacks

Calcutta News.Net
Thursday 9th July, 2009

Grave robbers have opened and stripped graves of valuable objects in a the Burr Oak black cemetery outside Chicago.

Police have said the bodies were dumped and the plots and coffins resold for a profit.

The scheme, which went on for twelve months, was allegedly carried out by the cemetery's manager and three gravediggers.

After a grave was excavated, remains would be either be dumped in the back part of the cemetery or pushed down to fit another body on top.

Authorities have assured relatives that bodies and gravesites will be restored, even though they have said it will take some time to identify all remains.

Burr Oak is one of Chicago's oldest, African-American cemeteries and is the burial site for a number of historic dignitaries.

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