Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1886-01-28
EMPTY GRAVES.
Decatur, Georgia. I'm Furious
Fover of Excitement.
body-soatchcrs' work-severai Comm. rs-
h1nsd, but tho silent Occupant.
Were Gone.

DECATUR, GA, January ~ 2-Thi- com.
munity IL greatly excited over the repeat.
~d dcsccration OF It's graveyard by body
snatchers aud the discovery OF the com.
phcity OF tho sexton in the crime peca.
tnr has handsome cemetery, located in
the edge OF the town The inciosurc is
large, and many OF the lots are well cared
for There the bodies OF the dead ha,.
been latd 10 rest for three or fouTscors
years a part Of the cemetery "a set aside
a. Gods acre" aud there the poor ar.
laid away UP TO week ago no one
dreamed that the bodies in IN.
cemct"ry bad been disturbed, hut
last week joe Smith. the sexton
of the cemetery, directed suspicion on him
self. and was watched that night with
.eorgc Vaughn, the negro janitor OF the
Atlanta Medical College, he was detected
n the act OF robhing The grave OF Israel
sanford Vaughn gave bond, while Smith
was lodged in jail, The body was never
recovered. Smith il still In Jail About
two weeks ago Simon Read, n color.d man
49,, sgsd seventy ~, iy .liye years died lie was
found that the body of Sanford WAS missing
great many people began 10 wonder II old
man Roads had gone the same way
Public opinion ran high, aud pressure
was brought on the Mayor and Council Tor
sn investigation. Yesterday Mayor Kirk.
patrick, Councilman Austin, Marrhal Chit
Nets and several other gentlemen went To
NhN graves, accompanied hN force OF ne
gro .neu to'open them and see II there was
anything missing. The first grave exam
ined was that OF Simon Read The ne
grocs with shovels set upon the grave and
were soon nc the coffin IL was empty,
save pair OF breeches aud one or two
minor pieces OF wearing apparel The
body OF the old man had been takon
away, and was then, NO doubt. being
well cured ia some deans watts Tho ne.
grocs who we're shovVling dirt grew very
much excited and did not need 20 bo urged
20 greater eNertion A. soon as 10 was
clearly seen that Reads body was gone, they
we're put Co work on two other graves that
were very near together. Both graves OF
colorcd people aud when the coffins were
reached it was found that one
body was gone. The men were
then put to work on the grave
OF white lady whose death occurred soine
weeks ago. When the plsnks over the
coffin were reached Mayor Kirkpatrick
said II is no use 20 go further In this
grave. ! saw this lady buried aud know
those planks have not been distui bed " The
coffin was therefore not disturbed There
were no other suspected graves that
the Mayor felt authorized u open,
and the work was abandoned at
thst point There are other graves in
the cemetery that are thought 20 bs
empty, but 40 far thorc have been no other
Investigations, NJ the relatives Of the dead
people object 10 the graves being opened
10 ~ not Improbable, however, that there
vii be still more graves opened The zen-
eral impression IL that there has been n
good deaf OF graverobbing In the vicinity
of Atlanta. OF late several fobheries havo
been detected, aud II IL believed that about
these parts many mound rises above an
empty coffin.