HOT SPRINGS - Vandals damaged numerous grave sites at Cutter Morning Star Cemetery, turning over headstones and stealing or destroying memorials left on graves, sometime Sunday night or early Monday morning, according to family members of people buried in the cemetery.
The vandalism was reported to the Garland County sheriff's office Monday morning.
Rebecca Jones, whose son is buried in the cemetery, said she received a call from a friend early Monday morning notifying her of the vandalism.
Jones said her friend "knew that's where my son was buried, so I rushed in the car and pull up and see probably about 25 other cars, because everyone is rushing to see, I'm guessing, obviously if their loved ones' graves were messed up. And I parked and had to run to my son's. He was 2 years old when he passed away and there [was] all of his stuff, which his headstone was not broken and I guess that's the only thing I can say I'm thankful for, but he had little angels and different things sitting on his headstone."
She said the angel figurines and a lion figurine were both thrown at her son's headstone.
"I could tell because all of the ricochet pieces were right there at the front," Jones said. "Everything that was thrown at it and broken, it filled up a trash bag."
In addition to that, she said flowers, toys and a large cross at the grave site were all stolen.
"As a mom, I've already lost my child [and] I have to wake up the day after Mother's Day to go clean up my 2-year-old son's grave site because someone wanted to vandalize it; it's heartbreaking, it's disgusting," Jones said. "I never would have thought I would have lost a child to begin with, but I definitely didn't think I'd have to go clean his grave up because someone wanted to go throw angels at it and bust them over his headstone."
Her son's grave site is located in an area called "Kid's Row," since it is where mostly children are buried, and she said this is the area that got "hit the worst."
"They literally just drove through graves," Jones said. "There were several headstones that were completely demolished. ... It would have definitely had to been a truck or something with some pretty strong tires because they hauled through several areas just running over stuff, and I think a car would have gotten stuck doing that."
She said there was even an area that she believes the vandals started to dig up.
"I don't know what type of human being; and I don't think it was just one person," Jones said.
"I don't think that anybody in their actual right mind would go, 'Oh, I'm going to go and destroy a grave site,'" Jones said. "One woman said, 'Oh, maybe they were upset about their own family, it being Mother's Day; but like my son, his headstone actually has his face on it. I just don't see anybody being that mad where they're like 'Oh, I'm just going to start throwing things at this child's headstone with his little face on it.'"
Robert Burks, who lives near the cemetery, said vandalism has been ongoing for years at the cemetery, and he is always "running people off." He said at any time between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., loiterers can be found.
"I just think it's terrible we live in a world that something like this could happen," Jones said. "It's heartbreaking, there's almost just no words for it, and I really hope if anybody has any information whatsoever, I really do hope they call and contact the sheriff's department."
Metro on 05/12/2020