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Chicago Personal Injury Lawsuits Filed Over Cemetery Desecrations

This weekend, thousands of family members arrived at the Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois to find out what happened to the bodies of their deceased loved ones. Their visits come in the wake of Cook County officials discovering at least 300 corpses that had been dug up and tossed in piles. Burr Oak Cemetery is a historically black cemetery.

Police say that a number of employees desecrated the bodies so they could resell cemetery plots to make money. Four former and current cemetery workers have been charged with dismemberment. If convicted of the felony charges, they could face anywhere from 6 to 30 years in prison.

Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart says that the desecrations likely go back at least four years if not more. He?s also concerned that more bodies may be discovered.

Several Cook County personal injury lawsuits suing for damages have already been filed. Plaintiffs Jeremy Washington, Roshanda Washington Jones, Jarvis L Washington, Renia Washington, and Chequita Byrd-Davis are seeking over $30,000 in damages for the intentional infliction of emotional distress. Their family members were buried at the Illinois cemetery between 1997 and 2004.

The defendants of the Alsip personal injury complaint are Burr Oak Cemetery, Perpetua LLC, its president Melvin Bryant, and the four employees charged with committing the alleged crimes?Maurice Dailey, Keith Nicks, Terrence Nicks, and Carolyn Towns.

At least five other Illinois personal injury complaints have been filed and a class action complaint may be pending.

This week, authorities will have to identify over 100,000 graves. The problem will likely be compounded by what Sheriff?s spokesperson Steve Patterson is calling the cemetery?s ?disastrous record-keeping.? Reverend Jesse Jackson wants the cemetery to be placed in receivership.

Burr Oak Cemetery: Relatives of 7,000 people buried in site near Alsip seek information on grave sites, Chicago Tribune, July 12, 2009

A Day of Searching, Anger and Renewed Grief in a Desecrated Illinois Cemetery, The New York Times, July 10, 2009

First lawsuit filed against Burr Oak cemetery, Chicago Breaking News, July 10, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Burr Oak Cemetery, Graveyards.com

Cook County Sheriff's Office

Full post as published by Chicago Injury Attorney Blog on July 13, 2009 (boomark / email).