COMTPON, Calif. () — Disturbing new surveillance video shows three thieves stealing headstones from a historic cemetery in Compton on New Year’s Day.
It’s the final resting place of 18 Civil War veterans and is a Los Angeles County landmark. This is not the first time the historic cemetery has been targeted.
It keeps happening — headstones and plaques vandalized and stolen from graves at the Woodlawn Celestial Gardens.
“I come over here, and I take care of them. I have been for five years,” said Celestina Bishop, the operator of Woodlawn Celestial Gardens. “This is my family. So when someone comes over here and they bring harm to my family, of course, it’s upsetting. It’s overwhelming. I get emotional.”
Bishop says this has been happening for years. Eyewitness News has reported on thefts at the site since 2024.
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The owner of a Compton cemetery feels helpless after about a dozen headstones were stolen.
Since 2023, though, Bishop says about 1,600 headstones and plaques have been damaged or stolen. She says the thieves are after the bronze or copper for recycling.
“Even with the installation of the cameras, the police are very delayed in coming, if coming at all. Even though I’m giving them active descriptions. We have had dogs here. Our dogs have been poisoned, so I mean, it’s a lot,” said Bishop. “You know, I’m scared for my dogs to run around and protect the property if they’re going to get hurt. Those are my babies, as well as this is my home.”
“They’re still brazen. They’re still looking for the opportunity,” said Aisha Woods, a volunteer caretaker of the Lincoln Memorial Park Cemetery across the street. She says they have experienced theft, too.
“I’ve known there two cemeteries all of my life, so as a volunteer taking care of the cemetery, and also being a victim here because my family is here, we have a couple of bronze headstones, and I’m afraid that they may take them next,” Woods said.
The caretakers say the issue goes far beyond vandalism. For them and for families, the headstones represent a final connection, and stealing them leaves lasting damage.
“I think that these vandals think that this is a victimless crime, and it’s not,” said Woods. “I have families that come to the cemetery, and they have to come to an empty space. You would never expect to come to where you lay your family to rest, and the headstones will be gone.”
Eyewitness News reached out to the Compton Sheriff’s Department. They are aware of the vandalism, but say they have not gone out to investigate yet.
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