Verdugo Hills Cemetery
Encyclopedia
The Verdugo Hills of Peace Pioneer Cemetery, or Verdugo Hills Cemetery, located in Tujunga, Los Angeles, California
, opened in 1922 and closed in 1976.
By the early 1970s the cemetery had fallen into disrepair, according to the Los Angeles Times, and lost its license in 1976.
foothills above Tujunga. The result was the unearthing of a large section of the cemetery and corpses being strewn throughout the area. The rain had been pouring into holes made by gophers and saturated the earth. When the slope gave way, rotted caskets broke open and their contents were carried away.
According to Thomas Noguchi
's book Coroner, some 100 bodies were sent plunging into homes, businesses and city streets. He even states that one such body was wedged into the entrance of a supermarket. The resulting task of trying to identify the remains and rebury them under their correct markers is documented in the book. When they arrived, bodies were everywhere. Some, he states were "grotesquely standing upright."
The city of Los Angeles repaired the grounds, but heavy rain unearthed more corpses in 1980.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, opened in 1922 and closed in 1976.
History
The Los Angeles Office of Historic Resources describes the four-acre cemetery:By the early 1970s the cemetery had fallen into disrepair, according to the Los Angeles Times, and lost its license in 1976.
Verdugo Hills Cemetery landslide, 1978
On February 10, 1978, after days of torrential rains, a massive landslide occurred in the San Gabriel MountainsSan Gabriel Mountains
The San Gabriel Mountains Range is located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range lies between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert, with Interstate 5 to the west and Interstate 15 to the east...
foothills above Tujunga. The result was the unearthing of a large section of the cemetery and corpses being strewn throughout the area. The rain had been pouring into holes made by gophers and saturated the earth. When the slope gave way, rotted caskets broke open and their contents were carried away.
According to Thomas Noguchi
Thomas Noguchi
is a former Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner for the County of Los Angeles, who served in that position from 1967 to 1982. Known as the "coroner to the stars", he determined the cause of death in many high profile cases. He is most famous for performing autopsies on Marilyn Monroe, Robert F...
's book Coroner, some 100 bodies were sent plunging into homes, businesses and city streets. He even states that one such body was wedged into the entrance of a supermarket. The resulting task of trying to identify the remains and rebury them under their correct markers is documented in the book. When they arrived, bodies were everywhere. Some, he states were "grotesquely standing upright."
The city of Los Angeles repaired the grounds, but heavy rain unearthed more corpses in 1980.