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Bronze statues from at least fourteen graves have been stolen from the Broekhoven Roman Catholic cemetery on Professor Lorentzstraat in Tilburg in recent nights. Six other graves also suffered. Relatives have an idea who is behind the grave robbery. They want to take action against the perpetrator. To prevent new vandalism or theft, they will be patrolling the cemetery from this Monday evening.
The images that were stolen cost between 3,500 and 4,000 euros. Far worse is the grief caused by the thefts. The next of kin are also furious, because in their view, after repeated thefts of images in the past, nothing is being done about security.
“What this triggers? Anger, sadness and frustration.”
One of the next of kin is Pedro Damen. He discovered that a statue of his aunt and uncle’s grave had broken off and disappeared. “What does this trigger in me? Anger, sadness, frustration. You’re not doing this are you?”
Pedro was one of several people who had come to the cemetery on Monday after the desecration of the grave had spread like wildfire through the families involved. Many of the people in the cemetery come from caravan centers. “We do everything we can to keep the graves of our relatives nice and tidy. They are so important to us. You can see that they come from a trailer park, Saint Mary, for example, is of great value to us. We took care of those people when they were alive and we want to continue to do that now that they are dead. Let them rest anyway. You can’t imagine such a theft, do you? Just go and work for your money.”
“I hope that a real camera is put up now.”
It was not the first time Damen had to deal with such a disrespectful incident. Five years ago, a bronze dove was taken from his father’s grave. Parts were also stolen or destroyed on other graves. “After that, a fake camera was put up, but I really hope the administrator comes up with a real camera now. This is extra necessary, because, as you can see, everything has grown so close here. And the fencing around the cemetery is also made of likmevestje. Have a look, you can enter the site through or under the mesh. Although it is of course not normal that such protection should be necessary. What I also don’t like is that the manager lets homeless people stay overnight here.”
When asked, the police say that she is not aware of anything about the grave robbery.
“If we catch the culprit…”
In Marie-Louise, too, disbelief prevails. She comes to see her grandmother’s grave. A large statue of the Virgin Mary was stolen there in 2017. And now it’s a hit, another statue of Mary has been ripped from the grave. “It is sad in and in. How sick are you when you do something like that? We have a lot of misery because of it.” Marie-Louise saw a message on Facebook and immediately went to have a look. “Unfortunately, we are again the victims. After the last time, we have not put the large statue back in bronze. And I am now removing the statues from another grave as a precaution.”
The next of kin have conducted a neighborhood investigation on their own initiative. Based on this, a description has been drawn up. Those involved say they know who committed the grave robbery, but they do not know where the man lives. “If we catch him, I think the police will be too late…”, Pedro warns. A suggestion to remove the bronze statues from the graves yourself as a precaution is not accepted by this Tilburger. “No, never never.”