A historic cemetery in Los Angeles County, the final resting place for city founders and Civil War veterans, has been devastated by a three-year campaign of metal theft, leaving over 1,600 graves vandalised and families heartbroken.
A Sustained Assault on Sacred Ground
The Woodlawn Celestial Gardens in Compton has faced relentless attacks since 2023. Thieves, armed with tools, have been captured on surveillance footage smashing grave markers to steal plaques and headstones for their valuable copper and bronze content. The stolen metal is believed to be melted down and sold for scrap.
The vandalism reached a new low on New Year's Day, when three individuals ransacked headstones, leaving rubble scattered across the sacred grounds. The cemetery's operator, Celestina Bishop, described the thieves as "immoral" and detailed the havoc they have wreaked. Despite installing security cameras, Bishop says police response is often delayed or non-existent, even when she provides active descriptions of the criminals.
Families Confront Empty Spaces and Loosened Stones
The human cost of the crimes is immense. Gina Giannatti discovered only an empty hole where her mother's headstone, placed in 1972, once stood. "My brother is right next to it, and it's already been loosened. As if they are going to come back again," Giannatti said tearfully. This pattern of loosening headstones indicates the thieves plan to return for easier collection, spreading fear through the community.
The terror has spilled over to the neighbouring Lincoln Memorial Park Cemetery. Volunteer caretaker Aisha Woods, whose own family is buried there, fears their few bronze headstones are next. "I think that these vandals think that this is a victimless crime, and it's not," Woods stated. "Families... have to come to an empty space."
An Overwhelming Toll and a Plea for Help
The scale of the theft is staggering. In a single night in January 2024, some 600 grave markers were stolen or damaged. Among the targets was a plaque dedicated to boxer Joe Louis and World War II soldiers, and an attempt was made to remove a plaque for President Abraham Lincoln. The stolen property from that incident alone was estimated to be worth more than $100,000.
Celestina Bishop, who has operated the Gardens for five years and considers those buried there her family, is overwhelmed. She revealed that her guard dogs have been poisoned, raising safety concerns. Replacing the stolen markers is a financial impossibility for the cemetery, with individual stones costing up to $3,900. Bishop noted that after the major January 2024 robbery, only one council member made contact.
The Daily Mail has contacted Compton City Council for comment on the ongoing crisis, which continues to desecrate a site of significant historical and personal memory.
