North Carolina Minister 'Repossesses' Dead Child's Headstone as 'Leverage' to Collect Family's Debt [View all]

[turbinetree]

A North Carolina pastor has “repossessed” the grave marker of a 5-year-old who died of leukemia, because the bereaved family still owed his company money for the monument. Wayne and Crystal Leatherman, who buried their son a year ago, say they’re in shock.

“He repossessed it, like it was a car,” the boy’s mother told WBTV.

JC Shoaf, a Baptist minister who owns Southeastern Monument company, countered that the couple needed to pay up. He told the station that the family initially paid for the stone, but were in debt after requesting a number of changes that “added 400 pounds to the size of the marker and $2,500 in additional costs,” per local outlet News & Observer.

If you buy something, you’ve got to pay for it. No matter what it is,” Shoaf told the news site. “I told (Wayne) I would take it up if they didn’t pay. I was told: ‘Go ahead.’ They probably owe less than $1,000 on it.”


https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/north-carolina-minister-repossesses-dead-childs-headstone-leverage-collect-familys


"Shoaf expressed regret when questioned about the situation, and suggested to the News & Observer that a mediator might be brought in to solve the issue.

“I hated to do it. I’m not heartless and I have had a child die, so I know how it feels. But what was I to do? I thought having (the marker) would give me some leverage. In hindsight, I should have just written it up as a bad debt...This could ruin my reputation. Hopefully, we can get this resolved, even if I take a loss on it.”