Headstones Toppled In Suburban Cemeteries
UPDATED 11/2/10 10:56 a.m.
MCHENRY, Ill. (CBS) - Vandals toppled as many as 60 headstones and knocked over stone vases at two cemeteries in McHenry over the Halloween weekend, police said.
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McHenry police learned of the vandalism at Woodland Cemetery and Saint Marty's Cemetery, which are adjacent to each other on the 1600 block of North Richmond Road in McHenry, on Monday, a release from police said.
Officers found that over the Halloween weekend, someone damaged numerous grave sites by knocking over headstones and stone flower vases. Numerous headstones sustained damage when they were knocked off their bases, the release said. Multiple stone vases were also broken.
McHenry police Deputy Chief Robert Lumber said the department has no suspects yet, but is continuing to investigate and collect evidence.
He said some of the gravestones were pushed off of their foundations and can be restored to their original conditions, while some were broken.
The Northwest Herald reports that some of the headstones that were knocked over dated back to the 19th century.
Police estimated that 46 grave sites were were affected. It has been classified as felony criminal damage to property because of the amount of damage, combined with the estimated cost to repair the headstones and vases, police said. Criminal damage to property over $300 is a Class 4 felony punishable by up to three years in prison, the release said.
No suspects had been identified as of Tuesday morning. Police are asking the community for help in identifying the vandals and anyone with information should call police at (815) 363-2143 or the Police Tip Line at (815) 363-2124.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
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