Vandals damage 70 tombstones at cemetery

Vandals toppled more than 70 tombstones and about 10 large obelisks from graves at Riverview Cemetery in Wilmington, board members said Thursday.

The damage is believed to have occurred sometime between 2 p.m. Tuesday and 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, said Kate Wilhere, treasurer of the nonprofit group Friends of Historic Riverview Cemetery, which oversees cemetery operations.

Board members reported the extensive damage to police on Wednesday afternoon.

Damage is estimated at between $15,000 and $20,000.

The vandals targeted two sections of the cemetery west side along North Market Street — one by the flagpole and the other in front of the public mausoleum.

A third section, secluded behind the mausoleum, was also heavily vandalized, because that is where the large obelisk monuments are located.

"Ten of them were turned over," Wilhere said. "They weigh about 1,000 pounds and were pushed off their foundations and are just lying there."

The group's president Lee Anderson said she had called some of the nearby neighbors to see if they had seen anything, and one neighbor told her she had seen some teens in the cemetery early Tuesday night.

"We're beginning the process of accessing the damage," Anderson said.

She said volunteers will try to contact the families.

Volunteers will also be passing out flyers to neighbors, churches and businesses in the area to ask for their help in reporting anything suspicious in the cemetery, Anderson said.

Anyone with information about the vandalism is asked to call Wilmington police Confidential Tip Line at (302)576-3990.

Contact Terri Sanginiti at (302) 324-2771 or tsanginiti@delawareonline.com