Mausoleum Doors Worth $30K Stolen From Delco Cemetery

MARPLE TOWNSHIP, PA — Authorities are investigating the theft of mausoleum doors from a Delaware County cemetery.

The doors were stolen from Saint Peter & Paul Cemetery in Marple Township sometime between Feb. 14 and Feb. 17, Marple Police Chief Brandon Graeff told Patch.

Graeff said the thieves targeted two mausoleums, stealing a pair of doors from each.

The total value of the stolen doors is $20,000 to $30,000 he said.

"The item being stolen is new, but the idea of theft for scrapping is not new," he said.

He said a few years ago some cemeteries were victimized by thieves, but they took things such as manhole covers and bronze flower planters.

Due to the high price tag for the door thefts, whoever is responsible is facing felony grade theft charges, according to Graeff.

The cemetery is open all the time, he said, and there is drive-up access to the mausoleums that were victimized. The mausoleums are also in the back of the cemetery, and any nearby neighbors on Crum Creek Road would not likely have heard or seen anything when the crime occurred.

Graeff said whoever stole the doors likely used power tools to remove them from the hinges. He said the screws and hinges were left at the scene.

"It's so intensely personal for the living loved ones," Graeff said of thieving from an interment site. "It cuts across all swaths of civil society, living and dead."

Anyone who was in the cemetery between Feb. 14 and Feb. 17 is asked to contact Marple Township Police Det. Dan Lazzari at lazzari@marplepolice.com or 484-427-8174.

Action News reports mausoleum doors were also stolen from cemeteries in Huntingdon Valley, Philadelphia, Jenkintown, Trevose, and Springfield.