burr oak cemetery alsip illinois
Authorities want a temporary restraining order that would prevent further burials at the historic Burr Oak Cemetery where workers are accused of digging up bodies. [1]
On July 9, 2009 Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said four workers at Burr Oak cemetery allegedly dug up more than 200 graves, dumped the bodies into unmarked mass graves and resold the plots to unsuspecting members of the public. [...] The Burr Oak and Restvale cemeteries are located in Alsip, Illinois, a suburb slightly southwest of the city of Chicago. [2]
Towns is office manager of the cemetery, while the other three are gravediggers. [3]
Four people have been charged after up to 300 bodies were removed from their graves and the plots were resold at the historic Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip. [4]
Family members search for the graves of relatives at Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Ill., Thursday, July 9, 2009, after graves were discovered dug up Wednesday and bodies dumped into unmarked mass graves in an alleged scheme to resell the plots to unsuspecting members of the public. [...] Three men and a woman are facing felony charges after police found what they called “startling and revolting” conditions at the historic cemetery in the south Chicago suburb. [5]
As many as 100 of those remains were thrown into a mass grave, police said, and other schemes included stacking bodies on plots that were already in use. [1]
Dart said Wednesday that his office learned that employees of the cemetery have dug up hundreds of graves, dumped the bodies in a mass pile in an unused portion of the graveyard and then resold the plots to other customers. [...] Carolyn Towns, 49; Keith Nicks, 45; Terrence Nicks, 39, all of Chicago; and Maurice Dailey, 59, of Robbins, have all been charged with dismembering a human body, a Class X felony, according to Cook County State’s Attorney’s office spokeswoman Tandra Simonton. [3]
Frantic relatives of the deceased descended on Burr Oak Cemetery _ the final resting place of lynching victim Emmett Till and blues singers Willie Dixon and Dinah Washington _ in hopes someone could tell them their loved ones’ remains were not among the pile of bones that littered a remote area of the property in Alsip, 12 miles south of Chicago. [...] The suspects, all of whom are black, were identified as Carolyn Towns, 49, Keith Nicks, 45, and Terrence Nicks, 39 _ all of Chicago _ and Maurice Dailey, 61, of Robbins. [5]
At the bond hearing, CBS 2’s Vince Gerasole learned that the operation run by Towns involved her re-selling the graves and taking the money, and compensating the three men with overtime pay. [3]
Emmett Till, whose death touched off the Civil Rights movement, is buried at the cemetery. [...] Hundreds of families have come to Burr Oak Cemetery to check on the graves of their loved ones. [1]
Sources:
[1] Suit set to be filed against Burr Oak Friday - 7/10/09 - Chicago News …
[2] Burr Oak Cemetery and Restvale Cemetery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[3] 4 Charged With Digging Up And Selling Graves, Dumping Bodies At Burr …
[4] 4 Charged With Digging Up And Selling Graves, Dumping Bodies At Burr …
[5] Burr Oak Cemetery Alsip, IL: 4 Accused Of Digging Up Bodies For Profit