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Call Kurtis: Cemetery Requires Families Pay for Theft, Vandalism to Crypts

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Marsha Kirby said someone stole the brass name plate right off her mother's crypt.

When the cemetery demanded $1,600 to replace it, it was time to Call Kurtis.

Kirby thinks Sacramento Memorial Lawn should have better protected her mom's final resting place.

So who should pay to replace the grave marker?

Two decades after her mom's death, Kirby still visits her final resting place inside a mausoleum at Sacramento Memorial Lawn.

"I come here to give her flowers and to talk to her so she knows I still love her," Kirby said.

But two years ago, someone stole her mom's brass name plate right off the crypt, leaving two drill holes.

"I thought, 'Stay calm, I'll just go explain to them that it's missing, and they'll go take care of it,'" she said.

The cemetery refuses to replace it, saying it's not their job to prevent vandalism.

If Kirby wants a new name plate, she's told she'll have to pay them more than $1,600 -- and she isn't allowed to order it from anyone else.

"There's no way I can pay for it," Kirby said of her mother's crypt. "She's nameless, and that really hurts."

In California, private cemeteries like Sacramento Memorial Lawn are required to keep an Endowment Fund -- money that can be used for unexpected expenses, including vandalism.

Attorney Jeff Klink said it's unreasonable for a cemetery to expect families to guard the cemetery 24 hours a day. He sais that's the cemetery's job, and the cemetery should pay to replace the name plate.

"It's part of the cost of doing business," he said. "They're tarnishing their own reputation."

We reached out to Stonemor Partners, which owns Sacramento Memorial Lawn. The company insisted their policy is "if it's stolen by vandals, it's the responsibility of the family to replace it."

They said if Kirby wants a new name plate, she'll have to buy another one from them.

But they agreed to drop the price to their cost, which is $400 -- saying Kirby should never have been given the $1,600 figure.

Kirby plans to give in and buy her mom another name plate, but she's disappointed with Sacramento Memorial Lawn.

"No one should have to go through this," she said.

Call Kurtis noticed a dozen more crypts with missing name plates -- the company wouldn't explain those but said this name plate was the only one taken.

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