Katie 
Wednesday morning, the president of Agudas Achim Congregation was notified that one of the grounds keepers, Tommy Valentin, had discovered that one of the graves within the Agudas Achim Cemetery at Waverly Street and Tower Avenue had been disturbed.
"We were walking to the cemetery to see if the tombstones are knocked down we were on that side of the field and we look this way we see a big pile of dirt. We’re the only ones that dig here so we walked over here come to find out discover there’s a hole here so somebody dug it out," Valentin said.
When police responded to the scene, they found a grave that bad been dug out by hand, containing some water in the bottom, and two dead chickens.
Police have said that it appears as though the grave was disturbed several days ago, likely on Halloween. According to the Hartford Courant, police have not ruled out the possibility that the remains were taken for religious purposes.
“They found what appeared to be hand-dug grave, other words it wasn't done by machinery, it looked like maybe shovels, the grave looked like it was disturbed maybe three or four days ago,” Lt. Aaron Boisvert said.
Police have not disclosed the name of the individual whose grave was dug out as they are waiting to notify next of kin. What has been disclosed is that it was the grave of a male that was buried in the 1950s.
Police at this time have no information as to why this grave in particular was targeted, or if it was a random selection. They are currently reviewing security cameras in the area for possible leads.
The individual or individuals responsible will likely face multiple charges including larceny and desecration.
Hartford Police’s Major Crimes and Crime Scene Division are conducting the investigation.
Contributor
