PITTSBURGH — “Get it better. Make it right and don’t let this happen again.”
Scott, a Pittsburgh native, reached out to Channel 11 after making a disturbing discovery at Homewood Cemetery in Squirrel Hill.
For more than a decade, he envisioned his final resting place to be in Homewood Cemetery, right next to his father.
“Psychologically, everything, ... I was preparing mentally for this and where my final resting spot was going to be next to my father,” he told Channel 11.
But that vision came to an end after his sibling FaceTimed him from the cemetery and showed him that someone had been buried in his plot. Scott had paid for the plot more than a decade ago.
“All of a sudden there’s somebody in the spot next to my father’s grave with a tombstone. And I was like, ‘Bro, what is that?’”
The next day, he started making calls to the cemetery.
“(The employee) said, ‘Oh my God, the cemetery made a huge mistake. The groundskeeper mis-marked the grave and buried somebody else in the wrong spot, which was your spot.’ And I was like, ‘You gotta be kidding me.’ How did they make a mistake like that?”
After discussing possible resolutions to the major mistake, Scott decided he wanted a refund.
“She said they typically do not refund anyone for a plot. And I said, ‘With all due respect, I don’t really care what your policy is. You made a huge error here,’” Scott said.
Scott told us that the cemetery said they would discuss options with their board, but months went by, and he never heard back, despite his repeated calls.
“Don’t you think it would be fair for them to refund me at least the amount for me to purchase a new plot at a different cemetery? Thirteen years later at the price they’re going for now?”
It wasn’t until Channel 11 called the cemetery today that someone finally made contact with Scott. Now, they’re in talks to right the wrong.
But, no matter the refund, Scott says the cemetery’s mistake cost him irreparable heartache.
“It totally disrupted all of that for me. Mentally, physically. Nothing will bring that back. Nothing will bring back that mental planning I was doing for all those years,” he said.
A spokesperson from the Cemetery tells Channel 11 that they are working directly with Scott to come to an agreement.
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