DETROIT (WWJ) -- A number of exhumations are underway at a cemetery on Detroit's east side after a family's complaint over an improper burial earlier this year led to a deeper investigation.
Detroit police were at the Gethsemane Cemetery on Gratiot Avenue near Conner Street on Monday to assist with the first of what will be 20 exhumations, stemming from improper burial complaints.
It all stems from a complaint after a family discovered a loved one had not been buried in the proper site at the cemetery. That prompted Detroit police to set up a hotline for families who had similar concerns.
The hotline netted more than 50 calls between April 29-May 17, 20 of which officials deemed to be credible complaints.
A spokesperson with the Detroit Police Department says they are working to help give families proper closure.
Exhumations began Monday and could continue through Wednesday, officials said. The remains of at least seven people had been dug up as of Monday afternoon, one of which was for an improper casket, meaning the remains were not of those who was marked at the gravesite.
Police say the exhumations are not part of a criminal investigation; at least not at this point.
Mary Williams tells WWJ's Jon Hewett she discovered Monday her husband's remains were mishandled.
"When they dug that gravesite up, there were four bodies in there. One would be Allan C. Williams -- my husband."
She says her husband's remains were two or three plots away from where she thought he was buried.
