2 Charged In Case Of Exposed Human Bones At Mount Holly Cemetery

One of the men facing felony charges in connection with the defacing of graves at Beasley Memorial Gardens in Mount Holly is expected to turn himself in to Gastonia police Friday morning.

Ernest Stowe and his employer, Odell Henderson Beasley, will be charged with felony aid and abetting as well as felony defacing of a grave or gravesite.

Detectives began investigating last week after getting a 911 call from a family member visiting a grave at the cemetery. Police found eight graves had been disturbed, and human remains were visible at each one.

Police said that when Beasley would tell his grave digger, Stowe, to dig a new grave, he did it without regard to existing graves. All remains have been recovered and are waiting a proper re-internment.

Gastonia police Sgt. Chris Reynolds said the charges could have been avoided had the two men contacted them. "If he accidentally did it or intentionally did it, then he should have been the one who notified us and let us know the grave had been defaced instead of a loved one going to the location and finding the remains of individuals that we don't even know," he said.

Police have not been able to track down Beasley despite several attempts to contact him, including sending Charlotte police officers to his home Thursday afternoon.

Also, the N.C. Funeral Commission is investigating, although it's not clear if private cemeteries like Beasley's are held to the same standards as public ones.