Ex-director of Illinois cemetery sentenced in burial scheme

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Ex-director of Illinois cemetery sentenced in burial scheme

By the CNN Wire Staff

July 9, 2011 5:03 p.m. EDT

(CNN) -- The former director of a Chicago-area cemetery where hundreds of graves

were dug up and resold has pleaded guilty to several charges involving the

desecration of human remains.

Carolyn Towns, 51, who ran the Burr Oak Cemetery when the allegations surfaced

in 2009, was sentenced to 12 years in prison Friday after she pleaded guilty to

all charges against her, including dismembering a human body and theft from a

place of worship, according to state prosecutors in Cook County, Illinois.

Three grave diggers face charges.

As part of the scheme, prosecutors said, the grave diggers would exhume bodies,

crushing vaults and caskets before dumping human remains at the cemetery's trash

site.

The workers would " double stack " graves, meaning they would bury existing

remains deeper into the ground before placing new remains in the same location,

authorities said.

Towns " is very remorseful, not only for the pain she caused her family, but the

families of people who have loved ones at Burr Oak, " defense attorney a

Ortiz said, according to CNN affiliate WLS. " She accepted responsibility for the

allegations in this case, and she would just like to put this behind her and

move on with her life. "

Weeks after the investigation began, the White House issued a statement

clarifying that first lady Obama's late father, Fraser III,

was not buried in Burr Oak, but in a graveyard a few miles away. The first

lady's communications director had mistakenly reported he was buried in Burr

Oak.

The Cook County Sheriff's Department received more than 5,000 telephone

inquiries and 1,700 e-mails regarding missing relatives, throughout their

investigation.

At the time, Sheriff J. Dart said the scene at the cemetery was

disturbing. " I found bones out there, " he said. " I found individuals wandering

aimlessly looking for their loved ones who can't find them. "

The investigation also extended into " Babyland, " a section of the cemetery

intended for children. Dart said he talked to countless women who could not find

their children.

Authorities also discovered the original glass-faced casket belonging to

14-year-old Emmett Till, piled in a garage filled with lawn care equipment.

Thousands rallied behind Till's family after he was violently murdered in August

1955 for reportedly whistling at a white woman. His body was exhumed in 2005

following a renewed investigation into his death. He was reburied in a new

casket.

Groundskeepers told investigators Till's body was not disturbed, but the Rev.

told reporters the desecration of his original casket was very

painful.