How a clump of moss helped convict grave robbers in Illinois
Four cemetery workers dug up and moved more than 100 bodies to resell the burial plots nearly 20 years agoIt was a particularly heinous crime. Four workers at a cemetery near Chicago dug up more than 100 bodies and dumped the remains elsewhere in the grounds, in order to resell the burial plots for...
<p>Four cemetery workers dug up and moved more than 100 bodies to resell the burial plots nearly 20 years ago</p><p>It was a particularly heinous crime. Four workers at a cemetery near Chicago dug up more than 100 bodies and dumped the remains elsewhere in the grounds, in order to resell the burial plots for profit.</p><p>Now, nearly two decades after <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jul/09/illinois-cemetery-graves-corpses">the scandal</a> broke at Burr Oak cemetery in Alsip, Illinois, scientists have released details of how a tiny clump of moss became crucial forensic evidence that helped convict the grave robbers.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/mar/05/how-moss-helped-convict-grave-robbers-illinois">Continue reading...</a>
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