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Teens nabbed in grave heist |
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Written by DeadGirl
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Wednesday, 19 January 2005 |
Jason Brown
NEW IBERIA - Three New Iberia teenagers were arrested Sunday after police discovered the remains of a human being and a headstone from a grave at the home of one of the teens, police said Tuesday.
Sheriff Sid Hebert of the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office said Jobe J. Wright, 17, Chantz Choate, 17, and Charles Babineaux, 17, were all arrested for simple burglary of a grave. The teenagers allegedly stole the remains and the headstone New Year's Eve from St. Peter's Cemetery in New Iberia.
Hebert said the young men did not damage the bones, which included a human skull, and took them because of their "gothic" beliefs. The "goth" subculture includes dressing in dark clothing, wearing dark makeup, and having piercings and tattoos. It can also involve a fascination with the occult.
"They made it abundantly clear that their goals were not to destroy the remains but to possess them," he said.
But Choate said although he and his friends consider themselves "goths," they took the bones from the cemetery without intending to use them for any occult purposes.
"We don't believe in that," he said. "We would not use them for any kind of rituals or anything like that."
Choate said he and Babineaux were shooting fireworks at the cemetery when they stumbled upon a grave that was already partially opened, and noticed a bag containing bones in the tomb along with some debris.
Choate said he and Babineaux took the bones to Wright's house. Later, Choate said he thought about calling the police, but "I didn't know what would happen. I didn't want to get arrested."
As she sat on her couch Tuesday evening, a ring of tears around her eyes, Choate's mother, Penny Choate, said she is sorry for her son's actions.
She described him as having psychological problems.
"All I know is I'm trying to get help for my son," she said. "I'm not saying that what they did was right, but I think they also need to take into consideration the extenuating circumstances, such as his mental disorders. I'm going to continue to seek help for him."
Chantz also expressed remorse.
"I apologize for what I did, but it's too late to take it back," he said. "I'm just going to have to face the consequences for what I did."
As for the bones themselves, Hebert said they still have no idea to whom they belong. He said the portion of the cemetery where the bones were taken from is one of the oldest. The grave marker listed no name and the headstone that was recovered read, "JCA."
"There's no historical church records that identify who is inside the tomb," he said, and there are a number of graves in the cemetery like this.
The bones were sent to Iberia Parish Coroner James Falterman, who determined that they were indeed the remains of a human being.
Falterman said in his 40 years at the coroner's office he has never been handed a case such as this.
"I think the sad part is that this type of crime not only violates the rules of our society, but it inflicts pain and disgust on the families who have to now deal with a resurrection of parts of their loved ones," Falterman said. "That's just not acceptable behavior in our society."
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