Investigators are trying to determine who caused about $125,000 in damage to a West Texas cemetery by vandalizing as many as 50 graves.
"I've never seen anything like this, and I cannot believe that people are so Godless that they did not even let the dead rest in peace," said longtime resident Magdra Flores whose family members' graves were vandalized.
Cleanup and repairs were planned Tuesday at the La Isla Cemetery in Fabens. It's managed by Our Lady of Guadalupe Church.
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office said deputies early Sunday responded to a report of criminal mischief at the cemetery, which has about 250 graves. Authorities discovered dozens of vandalized headstones and burial plots damaged. Part of the iron entrance gate was pushed down.
Some of the earliest markers found in the cemetery date back to the early 1900s, but there are some unmarked headstones that may even date back to the late 1800s.
Similar vandalism happened in early November.
Elizabeth O'Hara of the Diocese of El Paso said officials are considering raising the exterior walls of the cemetery and getting electronic surveillance.
