4 charged in scheme to dig up bodies in historic black cemetery

Police believe a small group of workers at the Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois conspired to dig up graves that were not frequently visited so that they could remove the bodies and re-sell the newly emptied plots. It's not known what happened to the bodies of all those who were disinterred.

The FBI and state authorities are investigating the incident, and 4 or 5 suspects were reportedly being held in custody by law enforcement authorities on Wednesday. The four suspects have since been charged with felony dismemberment, according to new media reports on Thursday.

The four charged were identified by the Chicago Tribune as Carolyn Towns, 49,  Keith Nicks, 45, Terrence Nicks, 39, and Maurice Dailey, 59. A fifth suspect, identified as an office secretary, was also being questioned, according to reports.

"What we found was beyond startling and revolting," said Tom Dart of the Cook County Sheriff's offfice. The owners reportedly knew nothing about the scheme and reported the workers to police once they learned about it.

The cemetery holds the remains of several prominent African Americans, including Emmett Till, the young black boy who was murdered by white racists in 1955 in the South after he allegedly whistled at a white girl. Till's murder sparked outrage that propelled the civil rights movement and his funeral was widely covered by the national media, including a photo spread in Ebony/Jet that depicted Till's badly mutilated body in the open casket demanded by his mother.

The cemetery is also the final resting place for singer Dinah Washington, former world heavyweight boxing champion Ezzard Charles and Noble Drew Ali, the founder of the Moorish Science Temple of America.

Speaking at a press conference outside the cemetery on Thursday, the Rev. Jesse Jackson said there would be a "special place in Hell" for those who committed the crime.

One woman told reporters that she visited her father's grave one day and couldn't find the body. "It's just not right," another woman told reporters. "Let the dead live in peace."