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Family Pleads For Return Of Stolen Cadaver
By
Ben Yakas
Published Sep 1, 2010
Modified Sep 1, 2010
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Sep 1, 2010
Modified Sep 1, 2010
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Relatives of Mattia Filippazzo, whose cadaver was stolen from its mausoleum under mysterious circumstances last week, put out another desperate plea for any information on the whereabouts of her body. "Her eternal peace has been disrupted by these...animals," said one relative on WABC 7 yesterday.
The body of the mother of seven and grandmother of 21 was stolen a week ago from a mausoleum at St. Charles Cemetery in East Farmingdale; she had been buried there for more than 11 years. The family has offered a $30,000 reward, and police say they will throw in another $5,000 for any information about the crime. "We solely want to put her at peace, as she wanted. The family has been devastated by this. I can't imagine that anyone would have to go through something like this, it's just mind boggling," said grandson Vincent Longo.
Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said the culprits could face up to four years in prison if convicted of desecrating a cemetery. He added that while cemetery vandalism is a somewhat common occurrence, the theft of a body is "extremely rare."
Tagged
body
cemetery
grave robbers
mausoleum
police
reward
thieves
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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