BROCKTON, MASS. (WHDH) - A shooting victim’s gravestone was found drenched in pink paint. The discovery was made on April 25, 14 years to the day after the 16-year-old was killed.
Chantel Matiyosus was leaving a baby shower in Brockton in 2009 when police say she was a victim of gang violence.
Matiyosus’s older sister and other family members marked the anniversary by coming to Calvary Cemetery in Brockton, but when they arrived, they found her gravestone defaced.
“It looked like someone took a gallon of paint and literally came over here and just spilled it. It was covered, drips,” Tiffany Andrade, her older sister, said. “As long as I have a breath in me, I am going to keep Chantel’s name alive.”
Andrade says she walked through the graveyard to see if any other vandalism had taken place but found none.
“Why? I can’t even say I was angry. I was more confused. I was like ‘why is this happening all over again? Is this a sign someone is sending to us?”
The family immediately rolled up their sleeves and shared a video of them chipping the paint from the headstone and scrubbing it clean.
They worked for hours and into the night. They say what was supposed to be a “resting place” for their loved one is anything but. The family is raising money to remove Chantel from the cemetery.
“We want to do this to raise money to take her out of here, cremate her and let her be with her family,” Tiffany said. We just want her to be at peace.”
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