Decapitated Chicken, Theft Probed at Cemeteries

According to the East Hanover Police, three bronze grave vases were reported stolen from the Restland Memorial Park on Sept. 11, and a decapitated chicken's body was found in a plastic bag less than two miles away at the Hanover Cemetery on Sept. 20.

In the first incident, police said a Pennsylvania woman noticed the missing vases when she visited on Sept. 11, and said they were all there the last time she visited in May.

The stolen vases—totaling $1,200—were at three different grave sites located in the back of the cemetery in the Garden View section, police said

Nine days later, officers responded to the Hanover Cemetery after a cemetery employee noticed a suspicious package, police said.

When officers picked up the package located at the entrance of the cemetery—which was in a yellow plastic bag—they found a decapitated chicken body with the separated head in the bag, police said.

The bag also contained large pieces of coconut, two tea light candles, pieces of cloth, and what appeared to be ash, police said.

The cemetery employee told officers he didn't notice the bag when he arrived at work earlier in the day, and only noticed it when a Defalco's Battery Delivery Truck pulled out of the driveway, police said.

Officers spoke to the employee from Defalco's who said he also noticed the yellow bag, but was unsure how it got there, police said.

The items in the bag were photographed and disposed by the cemetery employee, police said.