Soledad Family reacts to loved one’s grave being vandalized
SOLEDAD, Calif. (KION) A family that laid their loved one to rest in April has been dealing with an unknown party vandalizing his grave ever since he was buried.
Gregory Velazquez was murdered back on April 18, 2021, leaving behind four young children mourning the unexpected loss of their father. He was laid to rest on April 26th in Soledad Cemetery and that's when the problem started to happen.
"Since the day he's been buried, his grace has been vandalized, almost daily and it's causing a lot of emotional distress to the children," said Lisette Hernandez.
Gregory's ashes are settled in a plot of land next to his brother, mother, and grandmother. I'm told the problem only started to occur once Gregory's ashes were buried next to them. Time and time again, the grave has been defaced, photos have been shattered and flower pots were broken. It's a devastating blow to the children.
"They're coming and they're seeing their dad's things broken constantly, everything gets broken. They leave meaningful things to him and we come next time and they're asking who's breaking my dad's things," said one family member. They're already dealing with grieving their dad and they don't need that anger," said one family member.
The family says the actions of the unknown perpetrator are hindering their grieving process.
"Whoever messes with graves to me, they're not human and I mean, they should leave them alone. They should just be left to rest in peace," said Hernandez.
The Vice President of the Soledad Cemetery District tells KION they weren't aware of the issue but plan to address it in August.
