Vandalized Grave Will Be Replaced, After Man Admits To Damaging It

Friday,  November 6, 2009 6:34 PM

Updated: Saturday,  November 7, 2009 3:34 PM

Video Slideshow
LANCASTER, Ohio — Some much needed good news came to a Lancaster family Saturday, as they learned the destroyed grave marker of a loved one will be replaced, 10TV News reported.

The family was wondering how it would replace a headstone, after a man confessed to destroying a woman's grave because her daughter refused his advances, 10TV's Glenn McEntyre reported.

A man confessed to using a sledgehammer to destroy a grave marker in a Fairfield County cemetery.

Steven Locke, 21, admitted to vandalizing the grave of a woman's mother whom he had asked out on a date, police said.

Investigators said he did it after a 17-year-old girl rejected his romantic advances.

SLIDESHOW: Images From Scene

The girl's mother, Connie Brown, died in 2002.

The girl's grandmother says it took her five years to pay for Connie's headstone and now she has no idea how she'll afford a replacement.

"He wrecked something that can't really in your heart be replaced," said Mary Brown.  "Because he destroyed something that should never ever be touched by another human being. Like I said, it was hers.  I bought it for her."

Since 10TV reported the story, the cemetery manager has received dozens of calls from people offering to donate money to help the Brown family replace the grave marker, said Floral Hills Memory Gardens manager Paul Chait.

The makers of the grave marker said they will pay for half of the replacement costs about $3,000 due to the unusual circumstances surrounding the case.

The cemetery will cover the other half of the replacement cost, Chait said.

Locke is charged with vandalism, but the sheriff says additional charges could be filed.

Locke is being held at the Fairfield County Jail on $5,000 bond.

The marker is expected to be replaced in the next three to four weeks, Chait said

Stay with 10TV News and 10TV.com for additional information.

Sign Up For Free E-Mail Alerts