URBANA — A family buried their son at Oak Dale Cemetery in Urbana earlier this month, and now the family said they’ve been told there was a mistake with where he was buried and are fighting to prevent his body from being exhumed.
The family of Lonnie Reynolds Jr. said the 35-year-old died by suicide in early March.
“He had a rough life, he really did. And, all the stuff that he dealt with I know he did it to just be at peace for once and now he still doesn’t even get that peace even after he’s dead,” said Tommy Reynolds, Lonnie’s brother.
When Lonnie Reynolds Jr. passed away, his parents immediately purchased a plot of land at Oak Dale Cemetery, which is owned and operated by the city of Urbana, said Roni Sokol, the attorney representing the family said.
Sokol said within days after burial, cemetery officials contacted family and told them it accidentally sold a plot of land that belonged to someone else and Lonnie’s body had to be exhumed.
News Center 7 filed a public records request Monday morning with the city of Urbana for documents pertaining to the dispute, including a letter Sokol said she sent to the city on Friday. The city had not provided any of the requested documentation Monday afternoon.
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“The City does not respond to alleged incidents while the legal process is underway,” said Kerry Brugger, Director of Administration at the City of Urbana. “The city...will comply with your request after the open legal matter is addressed.”
The city told the family that the plot was sold in December to another family, Sokol said.
The other family was making payments on the plot and was set to do so until October, but appeared to have paid it off on Mar. 15, Sokol said.
Lonnie’s body was supposed to be exhumed Monday morning, Sokol said. Video and photos from the cemetery showed several people and some heavy equipment on site near Lonnie’s grave. Sokol and Tommy said the exhumation was paused because of the letter that was sent to the city.
The same cemetery has had issues with record keeping before.
More than a decade ago, former cemetery superintendent Randy Holycross was sentenced to three years in prison after he was convicted of theft in office, tampering with records and other felony charges, Champaign County court records show.
Holycross stole thousands of dollars in burial fees that were supposed to go to the city, according to Urbana police. Holycross ended up also having to pay back $54,733.92 as part of his sentence for the crimes.
“Not all of these (record books) have been updated because they are in such bad shape. The way it used to be run, a lot of information was kept in peoples’ heads,” said then-Oak Dale Cemetery Superintendent Chris Stokes.
Stokes told News Center 7 in 2007 that the record books show burial plots in various locations, but when he walked the grounds, he found that graves were not in the same location as where they were recorded.
Stokes also said that, in some cases, people who were supposed to be buried next to each other were not, and some people prepaid for burial plots where there is no room.
“All we can do is try -- try to improve the record system, try to improve the checks and balances and make sure people are getting what they paid for,” Stokes said in 2007.