SACRAMENTO, Calif. — 10 on Your Side is getting answers for a family that recently made a shocking discovery: their daughter's grave had been moved.
"She wasn't just some name. She was my daughter, and just to be so flippant about it. First trying to deny it and telling me we don't do that here, and then to find out, 'Yeah you do," said Sonia Rodriguez.
Rodriquez lost her 17-year-old daughter Jessica to a drunk driver in West Sacramento on Halloween night back in 2008. A recent visit to her daughter's grave left her in disbelief.
"As soon as I got out, I could see immediately that she had been moved," Rodriguez said.
The picture from 2008 shows Jessica's headstone at the center of the bench, but in 2024, the headstone was moved to one side of the bench and there was even a new green marker.
"I didn't know if just her headstone had been moved," Rodriguez said.
She emailed 10 On Your Side saying:
We had her buried at St. Mary Cemetery and Funeral Center off Fruitridge 16 years ago. We went to visit her and place flowers on her grave on Saturday 9/14 and was shocked to see her headstone had been moved over from its original placement.
"It's unfortunate. We definitely apologize for any pain and suffering," said Scott Miller, with the Catholic Funeral and Cemetery Services of the Diocese of Sacramento.
Miller serves as the Chief Operating Officer for the site.
"In measuring the area, there was a mistake made again by about 10 inches. It's very unfortunate. I think our groundsmen took great care to be very respectful, to really not disturb the remains of their daughter, to just slide her gently to the side so that we could honor the commitment to this other family," Miller said.
Miller said a wrong measurement resulted in Jessica's vault covering a portion of a neighboring plot that had been pre-purchased.
"What they did is they removed the soil, they dug down along the side enough to be able to gently slide her vault out of the other person's grave so it was fully in the space intended for her originally," Miller said.
ABC10 also asked why the family wasn't notified.
"The remains were never removed from the grave. They were never brought up from the grave. If that were to have occurred, our standard practice would have been to notify the family ahead of time. But the given that the remains were not removed from the grave, essentially just slid over approximately 10 inches to allow for new space, that's why we would have not made a notification," Miller said.
Rodriguez said she wasn't aware that something like that was possible.
"I thought when you buy a plot that's your final resting place. That's where you're going to be forever," Rodriguez said.
The funeral service said they're now working with the family to try and make things right. The family said they now want Jessica's body exhumed and cremated. And, they also would like the funeral service to cover the cost as well as refund the cost of the plot, the headstone and their daughter's casket.
Both sides are now talking through legal counsel.
The following statement was provided by Catholic Funeral & Cemetery Services CEO Jerry Del Core:
We deeply regret that Ms. Rodriguez was not informed about this situation beforehand. While the oversight was unintentional, we take full responsibility, and I am working with my staff on procedures that will ensure that it’s an error we won’t make again.
We do want to clarify that Jessica’s grave was not relocated and did not leave the earth, nor was Jessica’s casket or the vault that contains it opened. With the utmost care and dignity, Jessica’s vault was shifted approximately 2 to 4 inches to create space for a decedent to be interred in the adjacent location.
I have personally spoken with Ms. Rodriguez to offer my sincere apology and have already followed up on the items that we discussed. We are committed to continued communication and dialog with Ms. Rodriguez as we work to make amends for this painful incident.
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