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Human remains reportedly collected and removed from burial vaults in Baton Rouge

5 years 1 month 3 weeks ago Wednesday, February 27 2019 Feb 27, 2019 February 27, 2019 10:23 PM February 27, 2019 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE – Search warrants claim a man is reportedly collecting and removing human remains from burial vaults. The bones are being unearthed from the historic nationally recognized African American Sweet Olive Cemetery.

The Attorney General's Office became aware of this through a video posted online. Caleb Ashley Davis, under the online name Clyde Ashley Davis, showcased the removal of human bones from concrete vaults.

“All of our loved ones are resting there. For somebody to go in there, and remains have been removed that’s sad and sacrilegious,” said president of the Sweet Olive Cemetery Board W.T. Winfield.

The cemetery is more than 100 years old, housing more than 1,000 vaults. Winfield says they've dealt with vandalism, and storm damage before. But he’s astonished it’s come to this.

“I just pray on God’s grace and mercy upon a person who would do that,” he said.

The search warrant documents state the bones were taken from two burial vaults. Two of the bones that were removed from one vault were left on top of it. Another bone was placed back inside a vault.

"Of late we've been locking every gate we can,” said Winfield.

Attorney General Jeff Landry released a statement saying “This issue is not something I take lightly. My office and I will continue to do what we can to preserve the sanctity of the final resting places of our loved ones.”

Caleb Davis was arrested booked on misdemeanor contempt of warrants Wednesday. The AG’s Office has search warrants for his Instagram and Facebook as part of the investigation into grave desecration.

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