BOSTON — A Boston woman was arrested Monday, accused of defacing two graves in a Dorchester cemetery over a span of weeks.
Jeanne Bolduc, 66, of Mattapan, was charged with eight counts of defacing a gravestone, two counts of defacing a grave plant and one count of grave statue removal. Bolduc was arraigned on Tuesday.
The 82-year-old woman whose husband’s and daughter’s graves were vandalized at Cedar Grove Cemetery told Boston 25 News she endured weeks of “torture.”
“It killed me. It killed me to go there every day,” said the victim, who asked not to be identified. “Every day, something was missing.”
The victim visits her loved ones daily and decorates their graves for each holiday and season.
“My husband walked on water. He was the greatest man. I lost him,” she said. “And then my daughter came down with breast cancer, and she suffered for five years. And I lost my best friend.”
The grieving mother and widow first noticed the wreaths on both graves were missing in December. Then, she arrived to find statues stolen and plants tossed about and thrown in the trash.
“These statues meant something to me,” she told Boston 25 News by phone Tuesday. “My husband’s were there for 13 years. Glued. Glued tight. Glued. How many snowstorms in 13 years? They never got loose.”
Hoping to deter the vandal, she wrote a note on cardboard and taped it to her daughter’s headstone: “Shame on you, thief! I curse you! Steal from the dead!”
But the vandalism only escalated. Next was a message scribbled onto the headstone in permanent marker: an obscenity, followed by the words, “You cursed yourself.” Other obscenities and words were written on both monuments at later dates.
Determined to end the harassment, the victim called Boston police who began investigating, as cemetery workers installed hidden cameras in the bushes and trees.
Scanning thousands of images generated by the cameras, Boston police found the suspect on camera defacing the graves, a police report states.
With those pictures, an image of her car and the help of traffic cameras, detectives tracked down Bolduc.
After being shown the pictures, Bolduc admitted to the crimes, the police report says.
“I don’t know who she is. I don’t know why she singled me out, because I don’t know her,” the victim said. “Whatever she gets, she deserves… My last word to that woman is, ‘Who got cursed now?’”
Bolduc’s husband told Boston 25 News at their home Tuesday his wife plans to do right by the court, but he declined to comment further.
The victim said the work of the detectives and the cemetery workers have finally ended her nightmare.
“They were wonderful,” she said. “They were kind and considerate and tried to help me in every which way.”
Most of the vandalism has been cleaned up, though some of the permanent marker is difficult to remove completely.
The victim said she feels her husband and daughter finally have some peace.
“I hope they were helping to get [the suspect],” she said. “I hope they’re resting in peace now.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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