DESECRATED GRAVES BLAMED ON LACK OF POLICE PATROLS

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More graves have been desecrated in local cemeteries with the latest violation taking in the cemetery at Hurchillo. The discovery was made by a local resident, Paco Valverde, who had gone to the graveyard last Monday morning to visit family members. He found that two adjacent graves to the plots he was visiting had both been defiled.

The National Police in Orihuela have now opened an official investigation into the desecration in the cemetery which is one of five sites owned by the Diocese Orihuela-Alicante in the region, all built ago about a century ago but all having been recently refurbished.

Like many of the graveyards in the district there are no permanent staff at Hurchillo so Snr Valverde has his own key to the main gate. “The lock was perfect,” he said, and he didn’t notice anything unusual when he turned the key. “The cemetery was so quiet, so peaceful and, after Fathers Day, it was absolutely beautiful and overflowing with flowers.”

“When I got to the plot I was visiting I saw that the one to the side was completely destroyed and there were human remains scattered all around. A few meters away there was a skull lying together with several other bones. A coffin was completely destroyed and inside there was a shroud containing the remains of another person.”

“I immediately called the police who were quickly on the scene.”

A spokesman for the police said that it was quite likely that entry was gained through a broken fence at the back of the cemetery which is shielded from the main road. He said that he thought that the damage was nothing more than an act of vandalism as there were no bones missing and the skull seemed as though it had not been touched.

When burying their loved ones in Spain many families include personal items, watches, rings and other valuables and it is thought that these pickings were the target of the robbers.

One local resident said that such acts have been going on for weeks. They blame the fact on a lack of police patrols which have been noticeably reduced in recent months.

Diocesan officials attended the scene to comfort families and resolve any of their questions or concerns. There were said to be no voices of condemnation or anger, just a great deal of grief and sadness among those affected.

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