Authorities are still trying to figure out who stole more than $2 million worth of bronze headstones and nameplates from cemeteries in Compton and Carson.
In January, thieves took 350 bronze nameplates and more than 90 bronze headstones from Woodlawn Celestial Gardens in Compton – and even more from Lincoln Memorial Park Cemetery, right across the street. That type of headstone often marks military graves and older graves.
The rash of theft is fed by the high price of scrap metal. The plaques are comprised of bronze – which is made up largely of copper, a hot commodity in the stolen metal market.
Long-time Woodlawn volunteer Jean, who did not want her entire name used for safety reasons, says at the historic Compton cemetery, thieves cut a hole in the fence to haul headstones through after they used a sledgehammer to bust up the concrete holding them on the ground. She says it appears they were somehow startled and dropped one of the headstones near the hole in the fence.
At the cemetery on South Central Avenue, in some places there are little piles of chunked up concrete, with pink flags peeking above the grass like spring flowers.
At Woodlawn Celestial Gardens Cemetery in Compton, a pink flag marks a pile of concrete, where thieves broke up a headstone with sledgehammers to steal the metal. Photo by Susan Valot.
The historic memorial park once known as the Compton Rural Cemetery is one of the oldest in LA County. It officially dates back to 1871, with military graves from the War of 1812 and the Civil War. There are notable figures, like the daughter of the Compton city founder, the actress who played Farina’s little sister in Our Gang, and even the musician – Freeman Davis – who created the whistling version of “Sweet Georgia Brown” that the Harlem Globetrotters use as their theme song.
But Celestina Bishop’s connection to Woodlawn is much more than that. It’s personal. She was 2.5 years old when her three sisters and her mother were bludgeoned to death in their home in the 1970s. She was found two days later.
“Woodlawn has always been my mama’s house and my heart. It’s always been the place that if I wanted to have any type of connection to my mother, I would come to Woodlawn,” Bishop says, recalling spending nights at the gravesite with her grandmother.
Bishop’s family is still here. And so are their bronze headstones, for now.
“My mother and my sisters have that type of headstone, so you know what I did? I am going to replace it. I already put in an order. And I’m going to take that one and put it on a wall or … put it in the garden,” Bishop says. “It won’t be here.”
Bishop plans to replace the stolen headstones with something not made out of bronze – perhaps a granite memorial wall with everyone’s names on it.
She began overseeing the cemetery about three years ago, when the previous owner ended up hundreds of thousands of dollars behind on taxes.
Bishop has been telling families who still have bronze headstones here to get them replaced.
“It’s really hard for me, when I have to tell someone that their loved one’s headstone was desecrated. It felt like I’m telling them that they just died,” she says.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Vincent Ursini of the Major Crimes Bureau says in his nearly three-decade career, he does not remember a cemetery theft of this magnitude. He says they have beefed up patrols in the area and made sure security cameras are working.
In the past couple of months, thieves have stolen plaques in Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, the Port of LA and more.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, who represents the area including Compton, called metal theft a widespread problem.
“We’re all experiencing it, with catalytic converters – when I drive the Santa Monica Freeway and see all the wiring and the metal taken out of the lights that illuminate the freeway,” Mitchell says. “It is a major issue. We’re seeing it nationally. And I think the recyclers need to also have a sense of accountability.”
The Sheriff Department’s metal theft detail is trying to see if there are any connections to metal recyclers in the area.
“I think a lot of this metal is being either taken through the southern border or out of state or to a third party. I’ve even heard of some of this metal being melted in like a backyard,” Ursini says.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has established two $20,000 rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the thieves that hit Woodlawn and Lincoln Memorial Park cemeteries.
The grass at Woodlawn Celestial Gardens remains higher than usual to hide remaining bronze headstones. Pink flags mark headstones that were stolen. Photo by Susan Valot.
In the meantime, Woodlawn volunteers, including Jean, are keeping the grass at the cemetery cut a little bit higher than usual, to try to keep the remaining bronze headstones hidden.
“It means a lot to me because it’s history,” Jean says. “It’s part of the founding history of this area.”