The investigation at the Burr Oak Cemetery has been going on for almost three weeks now and still many families are left without answers. Many are left with questions about how this could happen, but no one ready to answer. Family members took upon the difficult task that we all must take on one day of making funeral arrangements and burying loved ones, many who died all too soon, many who were only children. After going through this process and learning to be at peace with the fate of their family members, these families are now forced to relive the most difficult time in many people’s lives.

Families entrusted their loved ones final resting place to the Burr Oak Cemetery. They paid money and signed contracts to ensure their families members would be eternally safe at the cemetery, only now to find out that the bodies may have been moved and/or discarded in a mass grave. It is unfathomable that people would stoop so low as to disturb the dead to put a few extra dollars in their pockets, but the reality is that it has happened, and now these families have a right to be compensated.

Families whose loved ones final resting place was disturbed at the Burr Oak Cemetery should be compensated by those involved. The cemetery workers, owners and others who knew about this disgraceful scam to resell occupied plots should not be able to walk away without answering to the families who have been harmed. If you believe you may have a claim against the Burr Oak Cemetery, contact Gary D. McCallister & Associates to learn more about your legal rights.

As the seriousness of the offenses of the owners and workers of Burr Oak Cemetery continue to come to light, the State is taking steps to protect the families of the loved ones buried at Burr Oak Cemetery. On Monday, Dan Hynes, Illinois Comptroller, moved to freeze almost $6 million in funds that are under the control of the company that owns the cemetery. This is one of many steps Illinois is taking to protect the rights of the families. The State is also taking steps to create better oversight of cemeteries. Currently no one is overseeing how the cemeteries are being run and whether bodies are actually being properly and respectfully buried.

Family members have a right to know that they can return to the site where loved ones were buried and know that upon their return the gravesite will be as they left it on the day the person was buried. The fact that cemetery workers and owners could have such disregard for the remains of so many people is disgraceful and these people should be held accountable. Family members have a right to know that their loved ones’ gravesites are being taken care of properly and are not being disturbed. If you believe your loved ones burial site may have been disturbed, contact Gary D. McCallister & Associates to discuss what your legal rights are against the cemetery.

An investigation is being conducted at the Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois after it was revealed workers were digging up the remains of people and moving them to a mass grave so the burial plots could be resold. At this time it is believed at least 300 bodies were removed, but the number is likely to rise as there are over 100,000 bodies buried at the cemetery.

Some families went to the cemetery, after hearing the news about the reselling of the plots, to find their loved ones only to realize the headstones were missing or not where the family member was buried. Currently, authorities are not allowing families into the cemetery as they try to determine the location of the over 100,000 bodies. Family members, however, are able to go to the cemetery to give authorities information regarding family members burial information.

Some workers from the cemetery have been charged criminally, but the cemetery also is responsible for damages to the families. If you believe your loved one’s body may have been moved, contact an attorney to find out what type of claims you may be able to bring against the cemetery.