THE sister of a man whose grave has been repeatedly vandalised at Jeparit has pleaded with offenders to stop their senseless behaviour.
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Nikki Black’s brother Phillip died in 2010 and is buried in Jeparit Cemetery.
Miss Black – who lives in Melbourne – said her brother’s grave had since been vandalised twice.
“It is a grave with a marble headstone and my mum arranged to have some pictures of him on the headstone,” she said.
“We also placed a statue of a dog on the grave.
“The first time it was vandalised was in 2012 and it appeared someone had used the dog to smash the photos.”
Miss Black said her mother replaced the photos and paid to have the grave repaired.
But she said she and her family were gutted when they found the grave had been vandalised for a second time this week.
“On both occasions my mum found the damage. She was just hysterical and it is dealing with her distress that really upsets me,” she said.
“There is no justification for this abhorrent behaviour – it is totally unforgivable and completely evil, not to mention the lack of respect and morals that these people have.
“When a family member goes to visit a cemetery and pay their respects, I don’t think anyone would expect to find their grave desecrated or vandalised.
“My mum is looking into getting the grave fixed a second time.”
Ms Black said her mother, who lived in Horsham, visited the grave ‘every other day’ and the experience had put a lot of stress on her family.
“We don’t want to get to a stage where we need to remove objects or pictures of him from the grave,” she said.
“I really don’t know why people are doing it – I can’t believe anyone would do this, whatever the motivation is.
“I encourage anyone who saw anyone there or any suspicious behaviour to call police.
“I hope these people are caught and that they feel the full brunt of the law because this is vile behaviour.
“Our family is still grieving the loss of my brother and he deserves to rest in peace.”
Miss Black said her mother had reported the damage to cemetery management.