Meticulous grave robbery vexes N.H. police. Clues sought as theories abound

[Ian David]

After she died in 1824 at the age of 30, Sarah Symonds rested in an out-of-the-way cemetery in the small town of Hillsborough, N.H., for more than 180 years.
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But sometime around Halloween her sleep was disturbed. Someone dug up her coffin and her remains, leaving behind only a few shards of wood, a meticulously dug hole, and a mystery for the local police.

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The grave robbers hit the Bible Hill Cemetery sometime between Oct. 30 and Nov. 2, Brown said. He said police were considering a number of theories, including the possibility that the body was unearthed by members of a Satanic cult.

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Brown said police in the town of about 6,000 people are puzzled because grave robbers looking for valuables wouldn't have any reason to dig so neatly and would likely try to fill the grave to cover up their crime.

"You're not going to waste time to square the corners," he said. "Why leave it open? Why dig it so meticulously? . . . Somebody obviously wanted us to find it at some point."


This headstone marks the location of Sarah Symonds's grave in Bible Hill Cemetery. Grave robbers dug up her coffin and her remains sometime between Oct. 30 and Nov. 2. (Gilman Shattuck)

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http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2007/11/08/meticulous_grave_robbery_vexes_nh_police/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+City%2FRegion+News