Leo Gillick
I know times are hard in the US at the moment, but stealing grave markers to sell on Facebook is a step too far.
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The St. Patrick’s Cemetery groundskeeper in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, noticed that there was something amiss in the area. Looking about, he realized that there were a number of the 150-year-old iron grave markers absent from their usual places.
He called the local sheriff, who started an investigation into the missing grave markers. Was it ghosts? Was it graverobbers? It was up to Detective Jeremiah Gustafson to find out.
Facebook Marketplace: While perusing Facebook Marketplace in the local area, the detective noticed something familiar. Listed on the communal selling site were the 150-year-old grave markers. The thief had stolen them for resale rather than some satanic ritual.
- The detective did a drive-by on the property listed on the sales page. He was surprised to see one of the old iron crosses proudly displayed in the grave robbers’ yard. The detective approached the home and questioned the resident.
Ghoulish Grave Markers
On initial questioning, it quickly became evident that the primary homeowner wasn’t responsible. The wily detective determined that the culprit was allegedly the resident’s father, 58-year-old Bradley Bloch. They waited for him to return and began a second round of questioning.
- Bloch denied ever even being in the vicinity of the St. Patrick’s Cemetery. He adamantly denied the theft, despite having one of the very unique 150-year-old grave markers proudly displayed in his yard.
Pulling Out The Big Guns: This was clearly a big deal for the detective, and he decided to go all out with the most up-to-date detective gadgets. Bloch had denied even being in the area of the cemetery on the night of the theft. He said that he was miles away in another town.
- But we have the technology to check these things. Because we all carry constant tracking chips in our pockets in the form of a mobile phone, the detective was able to see his location. It turned out that Bloch was, in fact, right by the cemetery on the night of the missing grave markers, according to his phone.
Since the investigation, all six of the four-foot-tall and 100-pound grave marker crosses have been recovered from their buyers. He’ll have his day in court, but if convicted, I’d like to imagine as punishment, Bloch has been made to work ghost-clearing duty at the cemetery for the next 400 years.
