Brother and Sister Arrested after Breaking Down Cemetery Gates
Posted
Kaitie Vanderpool-
Two Indianapolis siblings were arrested Wednesday morning after one allegedly drove his vehicle through Oakwood Cemetery’s gate while the other allegedly harassed a local funeral director. According to Warsaw Police Department Lt. Kip Shuter, officers responded to a report of mischief around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday at Oakwood Cemetery. When officers arrived, the suspect – later identified as Joseph Christian Martin, 26, Indianapolis – told police his mother had been buried Tuesday and he was at the cemetery to retrieve her spirit that was waiting at the site of her burial. When Joseph arrived, the gates to the cemetery were locked, so he allegedly drove his vehicle through them, damaging them irreparably. According to Shuter, Joseph told police that the cemetery gates were “the gates to Hell” and reportedly stated that Jesus told him to “take them down.” Joseph was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on a misdemeanor charge of cemetery mischief and held on a $2,000 bond. Shortly after officers arrested Joseph, police responded to a report of disorderly conduct at Titus Funeral Home in Warsaw. Shuter said Joseph’s two sisters had arrived at the funeral home demanding to see their mother’s body, though Titus had not handled the arrangements for the burial and the mother had been previously buried. One sister – identified as Raeann Martin, 29, Indianapolis – was transported to Kosciusko Community Hospital to be treated for low blood sugar. Raeann reportedly resisted so forcefully, it took several officers to restrain her while medical professionals administered sedatives. Raeann was later arrested and booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on charges of resisting law enforcement, disorderly conduct and failure to comply and held on a $500 bond.
