Authorities keep investigating Ill. cemetery

[July 10, 2009]  ALSIP (AP) -- Relatives of the people buried in a historic cemetery south of Chicago have been flocking there to check on the graves of their loved ones.

Three gravediggers and a manager at the Burr Oak Cemetery are accused of unearthing hundreds of corpses in an elaborate scheme to resell burial plots.

Authorities say some of the corpses were dumped in a weeded area, while others were double-stacked in existing graves.

The Cook County Sheriff's office and other authorities planned to discuss their investigation Friday.

The suspects, 49-year-old Carolyn Towns, 45-year-old Keith Nicks, 39-year-old Terrence Nicks, and 61-year-old Maurice Dailey, have each been charged with one count of dismembering a human body. All four were being held in lieu of bond Thursday night.

[Associated Press]

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