Michigan Family Disgusted After Finding Trash + Debris in Father’s Grave

A Detroit area family is grieving all over again after exhuming their father's remains and discovering that the cemetery dumped trash and debris in his casket.

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Why Was the Grave Disturbed in the First Place?

Terry Jowett says she first noticed that the ground near her father's gravesite looked like it had been dug up early last year. When she inquired about the displaced ground, she received a puzzling response from Resurrection Ceremony in Clinton Township.

“They told me that they were doing a burial next to my dad and that they noticed that my dad’s vault was compromised,” Jowett tells WDIV-TV in Detroit.

A spokesperson from the cemetery told her, "But out of the goodness of my heart, we decided to replace your dad’s vault."

A judge Order the Body Exhumed

Jowett says the family then received anonymous photos which led them to believe her father's body had been mistreated and that trash and debris may have been placed in his casket.

Three decades after Arthur Trottier passed away, a judge ordered that his body be exhumed. Unfortunately, the family's fears were confirmed.

“We were all hopeful that we wouldn’t see that when the vault was lifted, and there was a small glimmer that possibly dad was resting like they said he was, and peacefully,” the family’s attorney, Anthony Bologa, said. “But it’s unfortunate that the nightmare continues and it was just debris and pieces of casket that they reburied and tried to cover up.”

The family tells the TV station they plan to have their parents reburied in a crypt at the same cemetery.