WATERTOWN, Mass. — On a cold Wednesday morning inside Saint Patrick’s Cemetery, visitors felt another chill as they arrived at the sight of broken headstones.
Vandals had left a path of destruction earlier in the week and police in Watertown have been working to track them down.
“It’s just beyond words anyone that would do something like this,” Jose Suarez told Boston 25 News.
Across the cemetery, the statue dedicated to the missionary sisters was toppled and smashed on the ground.
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Elaine Grey says the statue was to protect the nun’s graves, the plaques that line its base.
“It’s a really sad thing to happen,” she said. “I’m angry. Those are nuns, and this is a nun’s grave right here, we always prayed to that for the people."
We watched as Watertown police lifted fingerprints off the gravestones. Investigators focused on finding the people responsible for what they call an attack on an important part of their community.
“We feel that it’s definitely intentional, malicious behavior. It’s disturbing,” Lt. James O’Connor remarked.
For investigators who are searching for those responsible, this isn’t just any case. They’re driven by a personal connection
“My aunt is here, my great aunt is here, my grandparents are here and both my great grandparents are here,” explained Detective David MacNeil.
He was among those lifting fingerprints from a toppled gravestone, just feet away from his family’s plot.
Relatives of other Watertown Police Officers are also buried in St. Patrick’s Cemetery and they say it’s like an attack on their own home.
“This is a place of rest and a place should be left alone,” he said.
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