LOWELL, MASS. (WHDH) - A Lowell man is calling for the community to ensure the stability of graves at a local cemetery, one of which he said he found completely caved in, exposing the casket below.
Tommy Foster said he was spending a peaceful afternoon visiting the graves of family members at the Westlawn Cemetery when he was shattered by what he saw.
“That’s where the hole was right there,” he told 7NEWS. “The casket, they’re gone they’re literally gone, I could se-e the linen … You could see that the casket is completely deteriorated and rotted away.”
Foster said this isn’t the first time he’s found a grave like this as Westlawn — he claims he fell into one in 2016.
“There was no casket there at all, I stepped on his head,” Foster said adding, “I was absolutely mortified because I didn’t know what to think at the time.”
A spokesperson for the city-owned cemetery declined an on-camera interview to discuss the problem. They did say they’re not sure why the grave collapsed, or when it could have been damaged.
They say when maintenance learns of a grave collapse, they break up any loose dirt around the hole, seal the vault with a new lid, and then fill in the grave.
Jake McDonough, who runs the McDonough Funeral Home in Lowell, said he believes the graves vault lid cracked, possibly due to the weight of heavy grave-digging equipment.
“It doesn’t give you a good memory picture,” he said.
A cemetery spokesman said they reinforce the ground around graves when using heavy equipment.
They also said they only have two employees to oversee all of the cities six cemeteries. They say if you notice any holes or problems around the grave to contact them so that they can address the issue.
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