The family of a deceased Black man told local news they’d dedicatedly been visiting his unmarked grave for over the past year until something both concerning and confusing occurred: a tombstone appeared...but it didn’t belong to their family.
The family of Samuel Wells made the bewildering discovery after 18 months of visiting his gravesite. Latonya Gouch, Wells’ sister, tells Local 4 Detroit News he was buried at the Sacred Heart of Saint Mary’s Cemetery in Detroit back in August of 2023.
Since his death, she told reporters she would lay flowers for Wells and play music every visit. However, one day in January she said she went to visit the site and found another family’s headstone appeared on Wells’ grave, per Click On Detroit.
“I want to know where my brother is,” Gouch told reporters when she visited the cemetery last Tuesday. “Just as simple as that. I don’t understand. I need some answers.”
Upon the discovery, the family made dozens of attempts to contact the cemetery’s office for answers but to no avail. After a while, they sought another outlet to have their voices heard and turn the heat up on their demands: the press. After their story published to Local 4, Mother of Divine Mercy Parish’s cemetery operations manager Marianne Peggie finally responded with an answer in connection to the incident.
Peggie told Local 4 News she discovered two neighboring gravesites were involved in the mixup, clarifying that the headstone was placed incorrectly too far onto Wells’ plot. Then, action was finally taken.
“Once I heard about it, I decided to make sure it was taken care of immediately, looking into it more on my end of things and making sure the situation was remedied,” said Peggie, adding that workers moved the headstone to its respective site, per Local 4.
Though it took longer than they would’ve liked, Wells’ family is at peace knowing they can continue their visits knowing exactly where their loved one is resting.